Legend of the Blue Eyes Toon Dragon
by Lobo Kendo
Summary: Once merely thought to be just a competitive card game, Deirdre Masako has been drawn into a world of magic and ancient powers. In the end, he might not come out of it with his mind intact.
1. Foreword

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any and all products of Yu-Gi-Oh!. I am not completely sure who owns the rights and reserves to Yu-Gi-Oh! (I think it's Upper Deck) but all cards and other familiar things are trademarked. Everything not recognizable is based solely on my ideas alone.  
  
In this foreword, I would like to state that this is my first attempt at a Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic, and I hope that it isn't a blazing disappointment. My biggest concern for future chapters is making convincing and entertaining dueling scenes. Storyline and character development, while important, I have down. Making such smooth battles like in the show is going too be a true challenge. So, I would like to enlist some assistance. Anyone who has some pointers on this element or has some straightforward ideas for cards and strategy, please e-mail me or post it as a review. I appreciate any help I can get.  
  
Sincerely, Lobo.


	2. Ch 1: Fire For Effect

**Chapter One**

_Fire For Effect_  
  
Deirdre Masako stood in the front of a formed circle surrounding two duelists at the Battle City Tournament, hosted by Kaiba Corp. His Duel Disk was strapped and secured on his left wrist and his trusty deck, which had never failed him before, was in a plastic case in his pocket.  
  
A student at Domino High School, Deirdre was a stoic young man with a rigid schedule set by his highbrow parents. He wore a black shirt under a smoke gray vest and matching cargo pants. His dirty blonde hair cascaded over his bleach-white bandanna and cast his hard features in a dark shroud. Though the girls at his school would never think him ugly, he was actually quite handsome. Though his apathetic attitude was enough to throw off even the most determined of courting ladies.  
  
The battle so far had been intense, as both duelists were renowned for their skill, but one of the two stood out in particular. Griff, the one-time protégée of Maximillion Pegasus and the creator of Duel Monsters, was in Domino City on business and had been in town for the start of the tournament. He had decided to join mostly because he was bored, but he did not so openly express his self-superiority too others. Humility was the one lesson that he had to learn himself.  
  
But more interesting than that, this man had a special secret within his deck that none were told but the intelligent could easily guess. Being the dueling pupil of the maker of Duel Monsters gave him the glory of having a deck set to the brim with all the rarest cards, because all he had too do was ask and his teacher could snatch one off the assembly line.  
  
He was also the one who convinced Pegasus to release a few impossibly rare cards into distribution. Griff had been the one who granted the wishes of duelists worldwide by getting four more Blue-Eyes White Dragon are released. Also sparsely released were Relinquished, the Thousand-Eyes Restrict, and the ultra-powerful Toon World magic card.  
  
Currently on the field was one of the rarest monster cards imaginable, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Griff drew a new card from his deck and, being smart as too not give its importance away, didn't even flinch once he saw it. Though he then laid it on the field. "I play Toon World."  
  
Shocked gasps echoed throughout the crowd and his opponent, the large and overpowering Dilo, cringed at the very mention of the card's name. The magical book materialized and exploded, spreading its pages wide open and releasing a silhouetted city.  
  
Now, though, a small smile did creep across Griff's face. "Watch this. If you thought my Blue-Eyes Dragon was invincible before, watch as he is changed into his super-powered toon form."  
  
A white mist billowed from the book, engulfing his dragon. With a mighty roar, the powerful beast was sucked into the book and then the cover closed tight.  
  
"Once inside, my dragon is protected against all possible attacks, and that isn't all." The book opened again and spewed out a smaller, quite comical-looking monster that resembled the previous Blue-Eyes White Dragon only in color. "My dragon now becomes the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, and I assure you, you'll have a very difficult time taking him out." Griff accentuated the "very" part of his explanation like it was an impossible feat.  
  
The little dragon cackled. He knew he was practically invincible and quite enjoyed flaunting it. Though maybe he just found himself as disgustingly adorable as everyone else in the audience did.  
  
Griff held out his extended finger. "Now, my dragon! Attack with White Lightning!"  
  
The Toon Dragon giggled and charged a glowing ball of blinding light in its mouth then released it in the form of a crackling beam upon its opponent's Buster Blader monster. The monster was annihilated in an instant and reduced Dilo's life points down to 300.  
  
Next to where the Buster Blader used to be, Dilo's other monster, the Beast of Talwar, actually showed a sign of fear upon its holographic countenance.  
  
"That is the end of my turn, Dilo. Make whatever last-ditch effort you have prepared and lets be done with it."  
  
Dilo choked back his fear over not just losing the duel but also his rarest card and drew another from his deck. Deirdre watched intensely, knowing full-well that Dilo didn't have a snowballs chance in Hades at winning this duel now, but why tell him that now? It would be best if he went down in his prime, fighting his hardest.  
  
"I play the Mechanicalchaser in attack mode." His new monster rose onto the field and crossed its spear over its spherical body. "Then I lay one card down and end my turn." The new card flashed onto the field and floated behind his two monsters.  
  
"Very well," chided Griff and drew another card. He put that into his hand and set a magic card down. "I play Harpie's Feather Duster, removing your face down card from the field." He then set down a magic card of his own. "And, just to add insult to injury, I play Scapegoat." Four multi-colored creatures appeared around his Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon.  
  
Dilo knew what this was going to amount too and sighed heavily.  
  
"I sacrifice one of my Scapegoat's and bring Summoned Skull into play." A flash of light and a hulking creature comprised of red muscle and bone appeared on the field and howled, spreading its wings and getting ready to fly.  
  
"My Toon World card then absorbs the Summoned Skull and transforms him into a toon as well." Just as before with his dragon, the book absorbed the monster into itself. Then, it reopened flashing threatening lightning. Then his new monster, the Toon Summoned Skull rose up and stuck its tongue out at Dilo, causing a simultaneous laugh from the crowd. Deirdre, though, didn't think something so dangerous was very humorous.  
  
"Now, Toon Dragon, destroy the Beast of Talwar." With a heavy inhale of its breath, the stuffed animal-like dragon unleashed its lethal attack and obliterated the opposing monster. "Summoned Skull, destroy Mechanicalchaser and win me this duel." Also obeying, lightning crashed and directed onto the monsters wings and ran down its arms. Then with a heavy push of its hands forward, blasted the monster with burning electricity and left it nothing but dust. The remaining of Dilo's life points dropped to zero.  
  
The crowd cheered and applauded Griff's victory. Everyone but Dilo and possibly Deirdre himself. The reason why Deirdre wasn't so enthusiastic was he now knew what he had too do. It was a moral obligation more than anything. Plus, he wanted that card. That oh-so powerful card. His deck would only be complete once the power to make toons was in his control.  
  
Deirdre pushed his way through the migrating mob until he could see Griff collect Dilo's locator card and his Gate Guardian. Dilo left without a word, though the expression on his face said everything. Deirdre approached the winner, and quite possibly the best duelist in the tournament, and reached into his pocket, fishing for his deck.  
  
"Griff Terrace, I challenge you too a duel." Deirdre produced his deck and in his other hand, held up his locator card.  
  
Griff looked at him for a moment, then with a stern expression nodded. "I accept."


	3. Ch 2: Simply Irresistible

**Chapter Two**

_Simply Irresistible_

Griff Terrace nodded respectfully, though he seemed somewhat aloof at the prospect. "I accept," he repeated solemnly, "but, I am somewhat...winded, after my last duel. I mean no disrespect but could you come back tomorrow?"

Deirdre Masako made a face, obviously displeased, but what could he do? Either he was lying; unlikely, or he simply was tired, which was understandable. "All right, I can wait a day."

"Thank you, my friend." Griff held out his hand and shook Deirdre's reluctantly extended hand with a warm smile. "Meet me here early tomorrow morning. Around 9:00. I'll give you a battle deserving of both our talents. I can only hope you don't disappoint me."

"I would never dream of it," Deirdre replied stoically.

Griff took a step backward, waving goodbye, then spun around on his heel and walked through the crowd and out of sight. Realizing there was no one left worth worshipping, the people dispersed leaving Deirdre alone with his thoughts. With a heavy sigh, he walked down the street. Just because Griff wasn't in the mood to battle didn't mean he was going to deprive himself of a good duel today. Someone had to be willing to get a bit dirty.

Everywhere he looked he saw people, most armed with Duel Disks, though they were all idly standing by or sitting down, discussing any number of topics but few had the look of a person willing to just drop everything and accept a challenge at the drop of a hat. These were the kind of people Deirdre liked. Strong-minded and self-assured. Not for once believing they could possibly lose. That was how a true duelist should act.

Not long ago, he had watched a television program featuring two people in a heated game of Dungeon Dice Monsters, if he remembered correctly. One was the famous Duelist Kingdom champion, Yugi Motou. The other was some kid with a die in his ear named Duke Devilin. He seemed cocky enough, he should be, he had invented the game and was absolutely positive that his opponent didn't have a chance against him, and in all aspects he should have been correct.

Though Yugi had obliterated that preconception before when he defeated Maximillion Pegasus at the game he had invented. Yugi, of course, came out on top. He had defeated the man at a game that he created. It was truly remarkable, though the game didn't seem like anything more than a less-elaborate version of Duel Monsters and wasn't anything Deirdre had been interested in.

What bothered him about this whole match is that during certain points Yugi began to preach about the "Heart of the Cards," which apparently meant believing in your deck enough that you trust it too assist you in winning a duel. It seemed like superstitious rubbish and it most likely was. It was a theory that Yugi used as a crutch. He tells himself that if he believes in his deck he'll come out on top no matter how impossible the situation looks. Apparently, winning a duel nowadays only requires that you talk to yourself and pat yourself on the back occasionally.

"'Heart of the cards' my ass," Deirdre grumbled, and as he walked was soon clearly able make out a cacophony of voices all centered around one person who was shadowed beneath a mass of people. Deirdre could not make him out, but he had nothing better to do so why not listen to the absent-minded badgering of some punk who no doubt thinks he is better than everyone else?

"I am currently undefeated," he said with a loud and commanding voice. "I get nothing but little weenie throw-away duelists who rant and rave the entire duel, even though I am beating them the entire time! It's sad! I want a real battle!" The kid stood up and now completely towered over the circle of people around him. "Someone come forward! I promise I'll go easy on you!"

Deirdre grinned and stepped forward. "I accept your—"

"I accept your challenge!" A commanding voice said on the opposite side of Deirdre, a voice that had dwarfed his own voice and diverted everyone's attention away from him and onto this other kid. Every person in the crowd let out a simultaneous gasp and started to break the circle, then formed a larger one around Deirdre, the challenger, and Yugi Motou.

The large man looked down at Yugi and laughed. "The Duelist Kingdom champion! Excellent! I know this is a duel worth my time! My name is Boehmer, friend!" He extended his hand. Yugi grinned and accepted the offering, and Boehmer completely eclipsed his hand and nearly crushed his bones into powder, though he was seemingly oblivious to his own strength.

Yugi grunted and pulled away. "Yes, t-thank you, Boehmer."

"All right! Then let's get started!" He and Yugi backed away from each other and moved into the center of the improvised ring, then both launched the twin holographic imaging pods from their Duel Disks and formed the plate on which they laid their cards.

Deirdre took a step back and entered the circle, seemingly like he never existed.

Not long after the match had started, however, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Deirdre turned around and came face-to-face with a beautiful young woman with shoulder length blonde hair and a white button-up shirt. Strapped to her right wrist was a Duel Disk that hung just barely past her checkered skirt.

"I couldn't help but notice that you had stepped forward first. It wasn't fair that other guy got the challenge instead."

Deirdre shrugged. "I'll get other chances."

"Want one now? This would be my first duel of the tournament." She smiled, like it would alter his decision based on her appearance. Though she was very attractive.

"It would be my first as well. If you're offering, then I accept your challenge."

"Great!" She grabbed him by the wrist and led him out of the mob. They walked together (against Deirdre's better judgment) away from the other duel and farther down the street. She positioned Deirdre parallel to the sidewalk behind him and with a girlish skip, went to the other side directly in front of him.

She smiled again, this time cuter, if such a thing were possible. "By the way, I'm Skylar! Skylar Seere."

"Deirdre," he replied, purposely neglecting to tell her his last name. It wasn't like they were going to become best friends or anything. It would be one duel and whatever the outcome, they would walk away not likely to ever see the other again.

"Okies," she said still smiling. She armed her imaging disks and formed her card plate. "Ready?"

Deirdre nodded his head, formed his disk also, then signaled that he was now prepared. The holo-imagers charged then activated, and they both drew five cards.

_'Good hand,'_ he thought. Now equipped with three monsters and two magic, he quickly formed a possible strategy.

"I set one card face down," Skylar said, not losing her enthusiasm. "Then I play the Cyber Falcon in defense mode!" An iron-plated falcon appeared flapping its wings in the air, and releasing a mechanical screech. A truly terrible noise.

"I also set one card face down and then play the Darkfire Soldier #1." A robe-wearing samurai wielding dual swords appeared. Instantly a powerful conflagration enveloped his body though he appeared unharmed. "I'll get this started strong right from the start."

"Yes, but my face down card, Light of Intervention, will make sure you can hide nothing from me." Skylar smiled and winked.

"Doesn't matter," he droned. "Darkfire Soldier, attack the Cyber Falcon!" The burning warrior charged forward and slashed the opposing monster straight down the center, slicing it in half and blasting it apart in a spray of pixels.

"Luckily, it was in defense mode so I lose no life points."

Deirdre nodded and awaited her next move. She drew another card and also placed it in her hand. "I play the Deepsea Warrior in attack mode!" Her new monster appeared, brandishing a wicked-looking spear. "I also lay down Umi." The activation of the field magic card washed the entire holographic playing field with water. The moment the water hit Deirdre's Darkfire Soldier, a cloud of boiling steam emitted from his body and reduced his attack and defense points by two hundred.

"Umi also raises my Deepsea Warrior's attack and defense by two hundred. Look's like your monster just became underpowered. No way he can make an attack by my monster now!"

"You're right, he can't." Deirdre drew a card from his deck, placed it in the center of his hand and set another monster card on the field. "I sacrifice the Darkfire Soldier #1 and play Twin-Headed Fire Dragon in attack mode." A monstrous double-headed beast appeared hovering just above the reach of Skylar's water trap, rearing back its heads and unleashing a loud howl. "And because my Dragon is flying above the water it is unaffected by Umi and receives no point reductions."

Skylar opened her mouth in an appearance of shock but made no noise.

"Twin-Headed Fire Dragon, attack with Double Fire Blast!"

Deirdre's dragon growled with both of its heads and began to drool embers from both mouths. Simultaneously they reared back their heads and released two scorching blasts of fire, incinerating her monster and reducing her life points by 800. She was now at 3200.

"Ah, poo," she whined, then looked at her hand and drew another card. She looked up at Deirdre with a frown and saw his expression had not changed sense the moment she first met him. He was just as passive and emotionless as ever. "All right, I play the Mother Grizzly in defense mode!" A large, brown-furred bear appeared looking quite vexed. "I also play this card face down." She set a magic card, which appeared floating behind her intimidating bear.

Deirdre drew from his hand then a few voices he had not noticed before became clearer. A small group had formed around Skylar and himself, though not nearly as substantial as the one still circling Yugi and Boehmer. He was somewhat flattered but his game was unaffected.

He looked at his hand and saw two monsters that he could put on the field and get a good early advantage, but they were of Pyro and Machine-type. If they were put on the field, Umi would reduce their attack and defense scores by two hundred, and even though that would still not be enough for her Mother Grizzly to destroy either of them, Skylar might have something else planned and it was always better to be cautious than reckless.

He would have to wait until he could get a field effect of his own. He had a Molten Destruction card in his deck somewhere. Maybe Lady Luck would make it appear on top soon.

_'Can't say I really rely on luck either, but it seems more reliable than a heart in my cards.'_

"I lay one card face down and end my turn."

"Good! Now, watch this, Deirdre! I play the Mystical Guillotine card!" Alongside her Grizzly appeared a giant medieval machine. Several rusty iron shackles shot out from the base of the device and made a beeline for his dragon.

"Not so fast," he chided and flipped a facedown card up. "I activate the Living Arrow, which will turn your Guillotine's chains against you." A glowing blue arrow appeared in front of Deirdre's Twin-Headed Fire Dragon. The shaft rebounded the chains and sent them back at Skylar, who could only watch in disbelieving horror as her own monster was set up on the cutting board. In one swift move, the blade came down and decapitated her Mother Grizzly.

"What! Oh no, c'mon!"

Deirdre almost felt sorry for her, she was obviously a novice and relied on her looks to get her through duels. Unfortunately for her, he never felt bad about beating anyone, not even a pretty girl.

"Now Dragon, attack her life points directly!"

The Twin-Headed Fire Dragon growled its compliance and released its immolating attack, blasting Skylar directly and sending her hair and loose sections of clothing whipping about. Simulated heat and force made this tournament all the more exciting. When the flames extinguished, Skylar was left panting and sweating vehemently. Her life points were now at one thousand and dropping..

The crowd had grown larger and some were even applauding now, though it was not likely for Skylar. She knew this, and seemed angered by it. "Lucky for me, the Mother Grizzly has a special effect. I summon the Twin Long Rods #2 in attack mode." Her new monster appeared, waving its elastic metal poles in the air wildly. "And because that was a special summon, I can now sacrifice it and call Wingweaver in attack mode!"

Her new monster, and beautiful six-winged woman, floated above the water and matched Deirdre's monster not in height but definitely in power. Skylar began to jump up and down, happily clapping her hands together. "Sweet! I can win this duel yet! Wingweaver, use Celestial Magic and destroy the Twin-Headed Gross Dragon!"

Deirdre snorted disdainfully at her rude remark toward his Dragon but wasn't worried about the impending attack. "I activate my other face down card, Mirror Force." A glass wall appeared in front of the destructive cerulean wave and reflected it back at its caster, destroying the Wingweaver. Skylar was stunned beyond words.

Once the dust cleared and Skylar had strained to focus back on the duel, though still noticeably shaken, Deirdre shrugged and nodded once. "It was a notable duel. Twin-Headed Fire Dragon, take out the last of her life points."

The crowd cheered the Dragon on as it took in great breaths of air and released two blazing gouts of flame, obliterating the remainder of Skylar's life points.

Deirdre ignored the dissonance of applause and congratulations of the people around him and approached Skylar, who was standing with her head hung low and her cards still uncollected.

Deirdre, of course, had put his deck away and reassembled his Duel Disk immediately after the last blow was dealt. He stood over her and sighed, then placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

She looked up and Deirdre instantly expected a harsh slap in the face, but received none. She smiled, though a bit hesitantly, and placed her hand on top of his. The crowd let out a contemporary groan of disgust and scattered rather loudly. Deirdre and Skylar, though, were unaware of it.

"It was a good match. You have nothing to be ashamed of." Deirdre couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth but figured a small measure of comfort was needed here. Maybe he wasn't completely immune to her charms afterall.

She nodded quietly and collected her deck. She pieced back together her holo-imagers into her Duel Disk and held up two cards, one was her rarest card, the Wingweaver, and the other was her locator card.

Deirdre looked at these items like they were an infectious disease he needed to stay away from at all costs but regretfully took them.

"You deserve them. Thank you for such a great duel, Deirdre." She unstrapped her Disk from her wrist and let it hang limply at her side. "I'm out. See you around."

He watched her take one step away and some part of his non-existent conscious told him that this wasn't right. This wasn't what a gentleman would do, and though he scorned all people, women included, he did consider himself a gentleman. "Wait, I can't accept these."

Skylar gave him a harsh glare but softened up a bit. "You have too. You won the duel."

"It isn't right." He shoved the two cards back into her hands. "Take them and continue the tournament."

She sighed then looked at the cards in her hand. "Thank you but you won. They belong to you now." Neither one seemed to be ready to alleviate this situation so she spoke up. "How about this; just take the locator card. I'm tired of this tournament anyway." She smiled familiarly, just as bright and happy as when they first met all those minutes ago. "Is that better?"

Deirdre nodded, and still rather hesitantly took and pocketed the locator card. "So, you're leaving then?"

She nodded. "Why? You want me too stay? Got a crush on me? I know I'm irresistible. No man can resist the charm of such a beautiful woman as myself."

"I want you too stay," he grumbled angrily, "but not because your 'irresistible.' I want you too stay because I think I can save a lost cause."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Skylar fumed.

"I think I can make you a better duelist. Sort of like taking on an apprentice. Accept?" Deirdre knew that he was not exactly a world-class duelist either but he had won several local tournaments. Maybe some of his skill would rub off on her.

She looked at him without speaking for a moment, searching his eyes for a sign of sincerity. He had done plenty during their short time of knowing each other to give her the impression that he had no interest in her whatsoever. Maybe he was doing this out of pity. In any case, she found his offer "irresistible."

"All right, I accept." She smiled and hugged him, just to see his reaction. It was just what she wanted; he stiffened up like a board. After a stunned second past he pushed her gently away at arms length.

"G-good," he stumbled then backed up. "Then...err..."

"Wanna meet my parents?"

Deirdre blinked with confusion for a few moments then shrugged. "Okay."

Skylar giggled happily and took his hand, then ran off in the direction of her house. She knew her parents were going to mistake him for a boyfriend and she was so greatly looking forward too his reaction.


	4. Ch 3: The Spirit of the Millennium Ring

**Chapter Three **

_The Spirit of the Millennium Ring_  
  
As they walked back to Skylar's home, she seemed to grow more and more enthusiastic about having Deirdre meeting her family. She spoke about them with the highest esteem and told her new friend every single aspect about their lives. Down to the minutest detail. Her mother was a respected lawyer in the most successful firm in Domino and her father was a paleontologist.  
  
Deirdre, though, wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect. He hated meeting new people entirely and her parents were without a doubt going to assume he was her new boyfriend and it wasn't likely that any amount of protest was going to convince them otherwise.  
  
When they got there, Deirdre was treated too an unexpected surprise. The house was empty.  
  
"Aww, no fair!" Skylar pouted and stomped into the kitchen. The front door of her home was located directly at the base of the stairs that led to the top floor of her house. Deirdre took a curious peek up, saw nothing but polka dot wallpaper, and then strolled after her.  
  
Her kitchen was very large and led into the dining room, the backyard, and the pantry. She hovered over the counter and was silently reading a note that had been left for her.  
  
"This is sooooo uncool, Deer. My dad was recalled to Egypt and my mother is completing paperwork from a case at the office. Even my dorky little brother went to a friends house." She whined pitifully then hunched down on a stool. "I don't want the house to myself!"  
  
"Your not by yourself." Deirdre said absent-mindedly, not meaning anything by it at all, just stating simple fact.  
  
"Yeah, but what are you going to do? Stay here? My parents would murder me if they found out that I had a boy over night."  
  
"Ditto," he replied. "I mean, my parents would kill me if I stayed at a girls house, or vice-versa. But if you want my company so much I'll wait with you until you mother gets home." Then, almost as an after-thought. "And stop calling me 'Deer.' "  
  
"Well, what about—"  
  
"No," he interrupted. "Not 'Dre' either."  
  
"Well, fine then! You can't call me 'Sky'!"  
  
Deirdre twitched at the mouth. "Well, that isn't fair at all." He then realized that his Duel Disk was still strapped to his wrist and he clicked the button that released the catch, then pulled it off and set it down on the counter. "C'mon, I'll teach you a few tricks."  
  
The next few hours were spent with Deirdre explaining dueling strategies and advanced tactics. Skylar seemed more than willing to learn as well and after awhile he forgot to keep up his apathetic attitude and let his barrier of indifference drop, though Skylar's warm smiles and teasing pushes continued to go unanswered.  
  
While he explained a few things to her, she began to have the feeling that she should be teaching him something, so the obvious choice was some much-needed emotion. Up until 8:00 p.m., he and Skylar sat across from one another discussing Duel Monsters. Secretly, she made every attempt she could too get him to crack a smile. He never did, but she felt like he was breaking internally.  
  
When Deirdre saw the clock, he realized he was very late for dinner and shot to his feet. When Skylar saw the clock, she panicked and they bid each other a hasty goodbye. Deirdre scooped up his Duel Disk from the counter downstairs before jetting out of Skylar's house and toward his own. He felt somewhat bad about leaving her alone but she understood. The prospect of tomorrow's duel really got his blood pumping.  
  
He would be facing Griff Terrace for a card of incomparable rarity. Such an addition would give him an unstoppable edge against any opponent, and in that lay the problem. Griff would most likely be using the card against him, and if he truly was the apprentice of Maximillion Pegasus then his deck would have many more super-rare cards waiting for anyone dumb enough to challenge him. Of course, this was excluding his Blue-Eyes White Dragon, which Deirdre already knew about and rightfully feared.  
  
Deirdre clasped his Duel Disk back on his wrist simply because he was tired of holding it. Deirdre was still a good three blocks from his house and dark clouds were quickly shadowing the full moon. It didn't take long for the streets to become drenched with rain.  
  
The weather report this morning had somehow neglected to mention a storm any time this week, let alone today, so he had not brought a coat with him. It had been a warm day and a warm night, and now it was just wet and miserable. But his spirits had already been brightened and a little rain would not be enough to dampen them. He would soon be the proud owner of a grand Toon World magic card. Either that, or he would be handed a devastating defeat, but if that were the case then he would go down in a blaze of glory. His match against Griff would be legendary and spoken about for years to come.  
  
Then quite suddenly, Deirdre was shoved off to the side and against the rain-slick window of a clothing shop he was passing by. The culprit didn't even stop long enough to see who he pushed, just shouted something that was drowned out by the rain then vanished into a distant alley.  
  
Deirdre sighed angrily but dismissed it. Nothing, absolutely nothing, would spoil his good mood. He stood up, rubbed the back of his head and started walking again. He walked no faster than he did before and looked down the alley where that kid disappeared. He was definitely a teenager, probably around his own age. His most discernible feature, however, was his long and pointed silver hair. He was wearing a cardigan sweater, blue jeans and was carrying something in his hands. Perhaps he was a thief. Whoever he was, he was none of Deirdre's concern.  
  
He saw nothing in the alley and continued walking. He circled one more block and came upon his residence. He pushed open the door and walked upstairs to his room without even announcing that he was home to his parents.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Deirdre left early the next day, rushing out of the house without a word to his mother and father who watched as he bolted past the kitchen and out the door. They looked at each other with slight concern for a moment, then shrugged and went back to their morning activities.  
  
When he stepped out of his house, people were already gathering around and starting the days dueling festivities. It took him less than five minutes to reach the spot where he would be meeting Griff. Normally, that walk would have taken him ten but he was in somewhat of a rush. Nonetheless, he reached Town Square and searched the small but quickly growing crowds. He didn't immediately see his challenge for the day so he took a seat on a rusty iron bench behind him.  
  
Deirdre sat alone in silent contemplation for nearly an hour and Griff Terrace had yet to show. It was still early, but he said he would be here early. He said 9:00 a.m. and it was now ten. Once the hands on his watch hit ten o' clock, he began to think he had been punked.  
  
Griff never intended to duel him. He probably thought he was too good for the commoners of such a simple tournament and skipped town. Pegasus was going to be getting some serious hate mail.  
  
He stood up, let out a heavy-hearted sigh and prepared to leave. If he wasn't going to have his headliner match today then he didn't feel like having any matches at all.  
  
Just then, he noticed someone in the distance. A boy wearing a blue vest and white undershirt. The blue jeans might have set off the obvious, but this had to be the same kid who knocked him down last night. He had unmistakable hair. Silver, long and spiked.  
  
Deirdre's brow furrowed and he marched toward his assailant. After being lied too by Griff and robbed of the rare Toon World magic card, he was in a very sour mood and this kid was going to get a piece of his mind. Maybe a piece of his fist if he said something offensive.  
  
Deirdre pushed through a group of people and approached the boy. He was with four other people. One being Yugi Motou, some tall kid wearing a brown trench coat, a girl wearing a blue skirt and looking awfully cheery, and the second-place finalist at Duelist Kingdom, Joey Wheeler. He wasn't even remotely as well-known as the champion but the match those two had was quite entertaining and worth remembering.  
  
But none of them were any concern to him. Deirdre wanted this kid, the boy with spiky hair. And up close he really didn't look like the kind of person who would be violent. He had a wide smile on his face and actually looked quite soft and baby-like.  
  
"Excuse me," Deirdre said after clearing his throat. "But I want a word with you."  
  
The spiky-haired kid looked up and immediately his face changed from one of humor and joy to that of sadness and regret. Apparently he recognized Deirdre as well. "Oh, sir! You're that boy I ran into last night. Oh, please accept my humblest apologizes, I was in a great hurry!"  
  
Even his voice, thick with an English accent, sounded delicate. And if he was so sorry now, why couldn't he have stopped and apologized last night? Something about this situation seemed odd.  
  
Deirdre was confused and unable to think of anything to say too this kid but a stern verbal assault. But he bit his tongue, so the boy continued. "I really am very sorry." He extended his hand and smiled. "My name's Bakura. Yours?"  
  
Deirdre accepted his hand and shook. "Deirdre. But, if I may ask, what was the big hurry?"  
  
"Don't worry about it," came another voice from behind him. Joey stood up and put his hand on Bakura's shoulder, leading him off to the side.

"He said he was sorry and that's all you gotta know, now beat it."  
  
Now this was something he didn't need right now. "You have the means of backing up your attitude?"

  
The other kid wearing the trench coat took up his friend's right side. Both of them were taller than himself but that didn't bother him much. Neither looked all that tough but they were obviously used to being intimidating. "You got what you wanted, now do as Joey says and leave."  
  
"Both of you stop it!" Bakura said, stepping up. "He wasn't doing anything wrong, just looking for an apology! You don't have to threaten him."  
  
Something caught Deirdre's eye then. This Bakura guy was wearing a Duel Disk on his left wrist. Maybe a good duel would help to get his mind off the one that he was cheated out of with Griff. He stepped out of the glare the two boys were giving him and approached Bakura. He was finally able to look someone in the eye without having crank his neck up.  
  
"Despite this rather tense situation, care to duel?"  
  
Bakura grinned and nodded but then Yugi, who had suddenly grown a couple of inches and changed his hairstyle, stood up and got behind Bakura. He gently moved him aside and looked Deirdre in the eye. "Perhaps you would do me the honor of a duel instead of Bakura?"  
  
"Or me!" Joey said stepping forward. "C'mon, Yug! I can take this good-for-nuttin' punk."  
  
Temporarily ignoring his two challengers, he snatched a glance at Bakura, who stood off to the side looking less than pleased. Deirdre looked back at Yugi and Joey and snickered, a rather cryptic sound and definitely not meant for someone like him. "Don't you two ever let him off his leash?"  
  
Yugi looked more than a little taken back by that. Joey just looked flat-out angry. "Hey! Were just lookin' out for Bakura, kid! We just don't want him to lose, that's all."  
  
Deirdre knew that Joey would say something stupid like that (he often spoke without thinking about the words before hand) and turned to view the results on Bakura's face. He was looking a lot more irritated now, and even a little insulted. "You think I can't defend myself, Joey? I can hold my own in a duel just as well as either of you!"  
  
Deirdre grinned and took a step back.  
  
Joey stumbled and stuttered, holding up his hands as to prove he didn't mean any offense. "That isn't what we meant, Bakura. I just meant that—"  
  
"I know what you meant, fool." All of a sudden, Bakura's voice grew deeper and his silver hair seemed to eclipse his countenance, making a once calm and frail-looking boy appear much more serious and even a bit sinister. The atmosphere he gave off made the entire group swallow and recoil a bit. "Deirdre, I accept your challenge. Prepare for the worst I have to give." He grinned and spread open his arms. His three friends stepped back and shot each other frightened glances.  
  
Yugi nudged Joey in the arm. "It's happened," he whispered. Tristan overheard and leaned in. "The evil spirit of the Millennium Ring has taken control of Bakura's body."  
  
The girl behind the three boys stood up, smoothed out her skirt and joined the group, paying more attention to the impending duel between Deirdre and Yami Bakura then any of them.  
  
Yami Bakura smacked a wayward lock of hair away from his face then launched his holo-imagers and armed his Duel Disk. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his deck, slid it into the card reader and crossed it over his chest. "Ready?"  
  
Deirdre nodded and prepared his Duel Disk and deck as well, then stepped back giving them both an ample-sized playing field. Both of their life point meters reset to 4000 and they drew their starting hands.


	5. Ch 4: Duelist of the Flame

**Chapter Four **

_Duelist of the Flame_  
  
"You're setting yourself up for a fall, Deirdre," Yami Bakura chuckled, already forming strategies in his head. But one particular strategy trumped all others. He just had to draw the necessary cards. "I have experience years beyond yours. And I am being _very_ literal about that."  
  
"I'll be sure to kiss your shoes later, Your Highness," Deirdre deadpanned, "but for now just lay your cards."  
  
Bakura nodded and glimpsed his hand. A sinister grin spread across his face and he drew a card. He set one card down then took up another.

"My first monster of the game will be Doma, the Angel of Silence." Appearing in a swirling funnel of smoke, an armored woman with skeletal wings appeared. She carried a gnarled sword in her right hand and a large eye adorned the front of her breastplate.  
  
"I also play the Pot of Greed." An ornate clay jar appeared on the field emblazoned with a grinning face. Its effect activated, Bakura drew two more cards from his deck.  
  
Deirdre had always firmly believed that a good, confident duelist could discern what their opponent will do simply by reading his or her expressions. Bakura's snide grins and full-throated laughter told Deirdre that he was planning something that most likely started with that down card.  
  
"I'm looking forward to seeing which two cards your Jar allowed you to draw, Bakura." Deirdre said, more as a mocking tactic than of actual curiosity.  
  
Bakura looked at his new cards and grinned. "Then I'll be sure to grant you the courtesy later on."  
  
Deirdre drew a card from his deck and upon first glance began to formulate a plan. He set that card face down and another, and then set a monster card on the field. "I play the Kwagar Hercules in defense mode." A large brown beetle appeared, sporting huge mandibles and thick armor. "The field is yours, Bakura."  
  
"Greatly appreciated," he laughed and flipped up his face down card. "I equip my Angel with the Axe of Despair, increasing its attack points by 1000." In place of her sword, a massive, vein-covered double axe appeared. Her attack points shot from 1600 to 2600. "Now, let's see how well you prepared. Doma! Attack the Kwagar Hercules!"  
  
His Angel shrieked and propelled forward, using her wings like jet thrusters. She rose up over Deirdre's insect and slashed, but the axe was caught in-between his monsters huge mandible pincers.  
  
"What?!" Bakura breathed.  
  
"I prepared very well." Deirdre said with one finger on his now face-up trap card. "I played the insect-exclusive trap card called Attack Net. And because your monster fell for it," he snickered lightly, "her attack points are reduced by four hundred."  
  
Bakura gritted his teeth in frustration as his Angel's attack dropped from her stupendous 2600 to 2200.  
  
"I also play my other face-down card Mirror Image." The Kwagar Hercules beetle flashed for a minute, like the static of a broken television set, and split into two separate monsters, each with identical attack and defense scores. "Now you have two of my monsters to contend with."  
  
Bakura shook his head. "That still won't be enough. Expend your turn and let's get on with your drubbing."  
  
Deirdre drew another card and set it into his hand, then set down another monster card. "I sacrifice one of my Kwagar Hercules and summon my mightiest card, the Flame Champion." In place of his insect, a man appeared wearing an armored suit, a plated petticoat, and handling a longsword. In his other hand was a large shield wreathed in flame.  
  
Bakura scoffed. "That is your mightiest card? Well, this duel will be easier than I thought."  
  
"I'm not done," Deirdre said, irritated that he was so quickly dismissed. "I lay another card face-down and play Salamandra." The Flame Champion grinned and took a step forward, thrusting his sword above his head. A burning yellow snake wrapped itself around the blade and changed its color from steel silver to bright crimson. His attack was now 2600.  
  
Deirdre grinned at Bakura's angered expression. "His attack is now greater than that of your Angel, so what is your move going to be? Flame Champion, attack with Burning Sword Slash!"  
  
His monster charged forward, shield before him at the defensive. He tackled the Angel in a cloud of embers, knocking her off-balance then sundered her down the middle, dropping Bakura's life points down to 3600.  
  
"Well played," Bakura said, still looking rather irritable but not completely peeved. "Now we have a game."  
  
"Quite," was all Deirdre said and he braced for Bakura's next move.  
  
"But, just as a friendly warning, if you knew what I had in store you would forfeit the match now. The hands of fate are not in your favor today."  
  
Deirdre curiously raised his eyebrow but decided to ignore Bakura's banter, obviously meant to distract and worry his opponent's, and focused completely on the duel. As he watched Bakura draw another card, he shot the crowd a quick glance. A veritable barrier of cheering people had surrounded him and Bakura and among them were Yugi and his friends, all nervously biting their fingernails. But Skylar was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"You should be here for this, Sky. This is a good lesson." He said quietly to himself, and then turned back to his opponent.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
A quiet rapping sounded at the door to Skylar's room. Another few attempts and she finally forced her sleep-deprived eyes open and looked around blankly for the source of the disturbance. Soon another series of soft knocking struck her door.  
  
"Yeah?" She said, her normally high soprano voice gruff and hoarse.  
  
The door creaked open and her mother stepped in. "Sky, are you okay? You look terrible."  
  
"I'm just tired," she replied and brushed her messy, tangled hair away from her eyes.  
  
"Well, it is the weekend but you should probably get showered and dressed soon. The Battle City tournament has already started for the day. A few of the matches are being aired over KCSK right now."  
  
Skylar blinked experimentally a few times then swung her legs over the side of the bed. "That's Kaiba Corp's. television station, right? Wow, Seto Kaiba usually just broadcasts the stock market on that channel."  
  
Her mother smiled and nodded. "Well, whenever you're ready, come on down."  
  
Then a mental reminder of something struck Skylar like a bus. "Mom! Wait!" She got up and pulled down the T-shirt she was wearing that doubled as a nightgown. "By chance, did you see a short, creepy-looking boy wearing a bandanna in any of those matches? His name is Deirdre Masako."  
  
Her mom, with one hand on the doorknob, looked up at the ceiling for a moment then nodded. "Yes, I think I do recall a boy by that name. He's dueling another boy with pointed silver hair named Bakura Ryou." She snickered to herself. "Kids these days and their fancy hairdo's."  
  
Skylar smiled and ran over to her dresser, snatched out a set of clothes then bolted past her mother and into the bathroom. After a second, she opened the door and peeked around the doorframe. "By the way, thanks!" She shut the door again and soon after the shower water began to run.  
  
Her mother closed her bedroom door, shrugged and went back downstairs.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
"C'mon, Bakura! That was nothing but a small setback, buddy!" Joey shouted over the dissonance of cheering and applause coming from other people in the crowd. An equal amount seemed to be rooting for both competitors. When a guy next to Joey cheered for Deirdre, he got a sharp elbow thrust in the side. Joey pretended he didn't do it by whistling merrily to himself.  
  
"I'll even the playing field with this. Go, Illusionist Faceless Mage!" A bizarre creature with three heads appeared, one being a blank countenance and the other two flanking it were of a boy and girl marionette. "This is one of the best defenses I have. My mage can manipulate your attacks and return them back at your monsters once per turn. So no matter which of your monsters attacks I will come out on top regardless."  
  
Deirdre's bad mood only increased every time he saw that wicked grin on Bakura's face. And this time he had a very dangerous defense. If his Flame Champion attacked then the attack would be caught and fired back at his Kwagar Hercules, destroying it and reducing his life points. If his insect attacked, then the attack would be returned to his Champion, and his life points would be deducted from half of his attack points and still destroy the beetle. So physically attacking was currently out of the question, but that didn't mean he had no way of destroying the Faceless Mage.  
  
"And I'll end my turn after I lay this card face-down." Bakura chuckled and looked up at Deirdre. "Your move."  
  
Deirdre nodded and again, drew a card from his deck. "I've been screwed out of one duel already today, so I won't lose this one," Deirdre said quietly to himself. "I'll lay this card face-down and play the Darkfire Soldier #1 in defense mode." Appearing next to the Flame Champion, Deirdre's blazing samurai appeared and crossed his swords in a defensive "X" pattern.  
  
Bakura looked at Deirdre's three monsters and grinned, then nodded understandably. "I know what this is for," he said quietly so that not even Deirdre could hear him. "I can prevent it, though." He drew another card from his deck and smiled menacingly once he saw it. He placed it in his hand and took out another. "I play Gemini Elf in defense mode." Two beautiful elven women appeared embracing each other alongside the Illusionist Faceless Mage.  
  
"But that is only half the fun. I now play the Zera Ritual card." Behind Bakura's monsters appeared a regal figure hidden behind a heavy cloak and sitting in a large golden throne.  
  
In the crowd, Yami Yugi took one look at the forming ritual and gasped; amazed that Bakura had such a rare card. Not to mention one that had given him so many problems in the past.  
  
Tea looked at Yugi beside him and gently shook his shoulder. "Yugi? Is something wrong?"  
  
He nodded. "Yes, the Zera Ritual card summons the very powerful machine monster Zera the Mant. I'm dumbfounded that Bakura has gotten a hold of such a powerful combination."  
  
At the mere mention of the word "powerful," Joey and Tristan began to cheer insanely.  
  
"Yeah, buddy! You lay out this Didgeridoo kid! He doesn't stand a chance with your mad skills running wild!"  
  
Yami Bakura shrugged. "What can I say? They are right, 'Didgeridoo.' You don't stand a chance." He took his two monster's cards off his Duel Disk's battlefield plate and laid down the Zera the Mant card. "I offer my Illusionist Faceless Mage and my Gemini Elf as a sacrifice!" His two monsters were struck with twin beams from the cloaked individual's eyes and exploded into twisting globes of smoke. "Now, I summon the unstoppable Zera the Mant!"  
  
The two sacrificial monsters combined into one, forming a giant funnel of red smoke. Once the cloud lifted, a giant fanged beast came into being. A crimson cape billowed behind it and its huge claws stuck out in front as if they were two large to move. Its attack and defense scores were also incredible. 2800/2300.  
  
Deirdre stared up at the beast slack-jawed. He didn't have anything strong enough in his deck to destroy this creature outright, but he did have several defenses in place that were originally meant for the Illusionist Faceless Mage. They would work just as well against Bakura's newest challenge.  
  
"I'll have to wait until my next turn to begin your thorough thrashing, Deirdre. Until then, do whatever you think will save you. But I know for a fact it won't be enough."  
  
"It will be enough," Deirdre grumbled and drew another card. Instantly his spirits brightened. This match wasn't looking so hopeless now. "I sacrifice my Kwagar Hercules and my Darkfire Soldier #1 and summon the Barrel Dragon!" Once his two other monsters vanished, a huge mechanical dragon appeared wielding three long cannons and sitting atop treaded wheels.  
  
Bakura clenched his fist and released a deep, feral growl. "It still isn't enough. Zera the Mant can withstand its three attacks and after your pathetic attempt at destroying him, I'll strike down your Barrel Dragon, then your Flame Champion, and then the remainder of your life points!"  
  
Deirdre set another face down magic card and pointed his outstretched finger at Bakura. "Do the math! Your monster cannot withstand a 2600 attack three times! Barrel Dragon! Use Photon Blaster and destroy Zera the Mant!"  
  
The Barrel Dragon howled and began to charge its three smoothbore howitzers. A moment later, they all fired, sending three bolts of energy at Bakura's monster.  
  


"Not so fast! I activate Rebound!" The three attacks from Deirdre's monster entered a sparking cerulean vortex that appeared and saved his monster from certain death. The three attacks then formed into one and left the portal, making a beeline back at Deirdre's monster.  
  
Deirdre pressed one of the buttons on his Duel Disk and activated his own face down card. "Negate Attack!" The Barrel Dragon's returned blasts vanished into another portal and this time, left for good. But after all that, he had accomplished nothing and it was now Bakura's turn.  
  
"Admirable, Deirdre, but ultimately futile. Your dragon is about to meet his maker! Zera the Mant, attack with Jagged Claw Slash!"  
  
The giant beast lunged forward and prepared to cleave Deirdre's monster, but he was further prepared for Bakura's attack. "Flame Champion, activate Incinerator!"  
  
The Flame Champion jumped in front of the Barrel Dragon, seemingly to his death, but Deirdre's face-down card flipped up and the Champion raised his shield, which set a towering wall of fire in front of the two monsters. Zera's attack stopped before it got anywhere near the fire, but it was still repelled by the unbearable heat.  
  
"What?! Impossible!" Bakura screamed as his monster returned to its previous place breathing hard. Black, acrid smoke rose painfully from its oversized claws.  
  
"And you mocked me for placing faith in my Flame Champion. He's my best card because he never fails me. The Incinerator is a card exclusive to him that neutralizes any attacks pitted against it, but that is not all. Your Zera the Mant is now burned and it will lose five hundred attack points every turn until it is at zero."  
  
Yami Bakura was beyond furious. He looked at his hand and saw nothing that would be able to help him yet. His ultimate plan could not be completed unless he had one more card. Hopefully, he would get that card very soon. If not, he was sunk.  
  
"Hey! No fair!" Shouted Joey.  
  
"Yeah, c'mon! Don't take that, Bakura!" Further encouraged Tristan. "You can still win this! Show us some fancy comeback tricks!"  
  
Yugi gave Tea a worried look but said nothing and returned his gaze to the duel.  
  
"Don't give up on Bakura yet, Yugi. He can still win this. You've come back from the brink of defeat on more than one occasion and so can he."  
  
Yugi shook his head. "That isn't my concern. This duel is insignificant. But Bakura is still under the control of the spirit of the Millennium Ring, and the spirit is becoming desperate. His anger is fueling his drive to win and in the end, such unbridled anger will destroy them both."  
  
Tea gasped and looked back at the duel. Bakura was still enraged but she could also see a slight glimmer of amusement in his expression. He was planning something big and was apparently stalling until he could accomplish it.  
  
"I am not finished with you yet, Deirdre. You have the advantage now but by the end of this duel, I will prove victorious and the overall better duelist."  
  
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Deirdre said and drew another card. He placed it into his hand and looked up at his Barrel Dragon. "All right. Dragon! Destroy Zera the Mant!"  
  
Because Incinerator had already effected Bakura's monster, it was down too 2300 from its original 2800. And because it was still burned, Zera lost another five hundred attack points and was now a meager 1800. Either of Deirdre's monsters could finish it now.  
  
But the Barrel Dragon had already declared its attack and fired its three shots, each one striking Zera the Mant's body with a high-pitched pinging sound. After the third one impacted, the monster exploded in a shower of depleted holographic particles. Bakura's life points were now down to 2800 and Deirdre's had yet to be affected.  
  
Deirdre gestured toward his other monster. "Now, Flame Champion! Attack Bakura's life points directly!"  
  
With a pleased grin, Deirdre's fiery knight leapt forward and slashed at Bakura with his sword, enhanced by Salamandra. Bakura yelled as he shielded his eyes from the brightness and heat of the attack. The shear force knocked him to the ground. When he looked back up, the Flame Champion was standing over him and grinning. His life points now barely survived with a scant two hundred.  
  
Bakura got to his feet and cursed under his breath. Though he cared nothing for those people in the crowd, they were still cheering him on and that gave him, or more accurately, his other half, a greater drive to win. He was no longer guarded by anything so one more attack and he would be finished. He closed his eyes and practically begged whoever or whatever might be watching the duel to help him. He drew a card and his eyes widened.  
  
Deirdre saw it too and prepared for the worst.  
  
"Hey! Deirdre!"  
  
He turned in the direction of the voice and saw Skylar next to Tea waving and jumping up and down. "C'mon, Deirdre! You've almost got him down! I'm counting on you!"  
  
Deirdre wasn't sure what to make of that but he let a small smile creep on his lips. He nodded and turned back to Bakura, who's own grin had yet to subside.  
  
"Unfortunately, your girlfriend is about to be sorely disappointed. I lay down the Destiny Board!"  
  
Deirdre's eyes grew wide and his arm dropped limply to his side; the only card still in his hand fell to the ground. The duel was now over. He had lost.  
  
Bakura spread out all five cards that spelled out the word "F.I.N.A.L." The Destiny Board appeared in front of him and exploded into a cackling skull, which shot forward followed by a creeping shadow and obliterated both of his monsters. Deirdre's life points plummeted down to zero.  
  
The crowd burst into an uncontrollable machine of frenzied applause and whistling. Joey and Tristan's voices rose above the rest, however. They hugged each other and started to jump around, ignorant of how dumb and childish it looked. Tea was also all smiles but that faded into a depressed frown when she saw Yugi's face. His was a mask of disappointment.  
  
Deirdre fell to his knees and let out a shout that was a mixture of both anger and the crushing feeling of failure. He slammed his fist into the cold concrete of the street as Bakura loomed over him, grinned and held out his hand. "I'll be taking your two cards now, as stated by the Battle City tournament rules."  
  
Skylar was also at his side immediately to gather up a few of his fallen cards. She pulled Deirdre to his feet, though his head never left its hanging position. After a few moments of silence, Deirdre sighed and fished into his pocket, drawing out one of his locator cards. He flipped the Flame Champion off of his Duel Disk plate and handed them both to Bakura, who greedily took them.  
  
"It was a good duel, though unsatisfactory. Come and challenge me again when you've gained at least a small measure of skill."  
  
"Hey, c'mon, that isn't cool, Bakura." Joey said surprisingly. "Yeah he lost but it was a good duel. Can't you shake his hand and congratulate him instead of just puttin' him down?"  
  
Bakura shot him a nefarious glance, took one last look at Deirdre, then turned around and walked away. Joey sighed, gave Tristan a light thwap on the arm and they both followed after him. Tea also had to turn away and gave chase.  
  
Yugi, however, did not immediately leave, and placed a reassuring hand on Deirdre's shoulder. "I'm sorry, you did put up a great fight. Bakura, though...he isn't himself." He looked at Skylar, gave a curt nod then trailed after his friends.  
  
Skylar sighed and tried to straighten him with her arms. He gave her a harsh glare, then turned away and started walking toward a nearby bench. He sat down, and instantly slammed his fist against the wood. It cracked under the pressure.  
  
Skylar sat down next to him and looked him over, trying to restrain the tears wanting to come into her eyes. "C'mon, Deirdre. Don't be so bummed. I wasn't when I lost."  
  
He nodded insincerely and looked up at her. She smiled when his eyes found hers but he again looked away.  
  
She brushed away one tear that trickled down her cheek. "If it makes you feel any better, I still want to be your apprentice. Your duel was still exceptional. He won only because of a card that gives him the win by default! You would have won if it wasn't for that card."  
  
He nodded slowly, though how Bakura won didn't matter. The fact remained that he lost, and it crushed him internally. "Damn," he whispered, and looked at his Duel Disk. Though the holo-imagers returned automatically, he didn't return it to its neutral position. He did so, then undid the latch and slid it off. He let the Duel Disk drop down on the bench next to him.  
  
"Y-your not going to quit, are you?" Skylar said, quiet as a mouse.  
  
Deirdre shrugged. "I don't know." An absolutely silent minute passed and he let out a heavy-hearted sigh. "Damn."


	6. Ch 5 : Comeback Tricks

**Chapter Five**

_Comeback Tricks_

**_Author's Note:_** Please excuse the shortness of this chapter. It is mostly meant as a follow-up too much bigger things and more important events but I thought it was necessary to reflect on both Deirdre's and Bakura's feelings after the last chapter's duel and I didn't think it should crowd in with another, much larger chapter.

Wallowing in a state of perpetual misery, Bakura sat in complete silence while Yugi and his other friends waited nearby for any sign of life from him. He hadn't moved or spoken sense the end of his duel with Deirdre and they were beginning to get worried simply because of the nature of the problem, which only Yami Yugi completely understood. They hoped this wasn't enough to extinguish Bakura's happy-go-lucky attitude and selfless personality but it wasn't looking very promising.

Téa let out a heavy-hearted sigh and took a seat next to him, smoothing out her checkered skirt. Previously, the rain-rotted bench was vacant minus Bakura; Joey and Tristan both secretly admitted to being rather frightened of his other side when it decided to make itself known. "Bakura, c'mon. You shouldn't be so bummed out. After all, you did win the duel."

Bakura shook his head and frowned deeply. "I had nothing to do with the outcome of the duel against Deirdre. The spirit of my Millennium Ring fought and won that battle. I could only sit by and watch as his anger fueled his drive to win." Bakura slouched over further. "And he was so cruel after winning. Why can't he, just for once, be a good sport?"

Joey snickered. "We're all talkin' about the same evil spirit here, right?"

"Yeah, good sportsmanship has never been one of his strong suits." Tristan chimed in and brushed away the tail of his trench coat as he took a seat next to Téa. "I'm sure it's hard sometimes, Bakura, but you gotta believe that you were chosen to bear the burden of the Ring for a reason." Tristan laughed at his own philosophical insight, though everyone but Bakura dismissed him with a roll of the eyes.

"Yes, because the world hates me." He grumbled.

"I don't believe that to be the case at all, Bakura," Yami Yugi said, turning back in the direction of his friends. "It's true that your alternate spirit has malevolent intentions, but perhaps this is all leading up to something much more important on a grander scale. I think you, and the spirit inhabiting your Millennium Ring, will be instrumental in the upcoming battle for the fate of the world."

"But until then," he said solemnly, getting to his feet, "I have to tolerate and try to control him. And it isn't easy. I must admit, I am afraid of what he might do. Of who he could hurt."

Téa smiled and got up as well, wrapping her arm around Bakura's shoulders and pulling him in closer to her chest. "Hey, c'mon! Let's try to forget about all this for now. Joey and Yugi still have a few locator cards to win. A good duel will take your mind off your Millennium Ring and all that magical stuff."

Bakura smiled and nodded. "All right, but I do kind of want to apologize to Deirdre. He must be pretty disappointed." He pulled gently away from Téa's grasp and deposited his hands uncomfortably in his pockets.

Joey shook his head. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Bakura. He might take out his frustrations on ya if you show up again so soon." With a quick pass of his hand, he retrieved his deck from his right pants pocket and slid it into the register of his Duel Disk. "Give 'em a day or two. Until then, I wanna go start a fight. If you'll all excuse me."

With that, Joey took a triumphant step forward, slid on the moldy bun of a discarded hot dog and took a header into the cold concrete beneath his feet.

The group let out a simultaneous groan, minus Tristan, who fell over laughing hysterically.

Joey pulled himself to his feet as quick as he could, wiped a small dab of blood away from his nose and cleared his throat. "Umm...that didn't just happen."

Yugi chuckled and walked off, looking for his next prospective duel. The others followed after him only for a few minutes before splitting off with Joey or by themselves as he stepped up to his next challenge against Weevil Underwood.

Three people stood around a rusted metal bench where a short, bald young man stood on top absolutely still. He didn't blink and it didn't even look like he was breathing. His face was riddled with piercing's and his hands, palms open outward, were held ahead completely immobile. A bird briefly landed on his shoulder but was scared off when one of his onlookers began talking.

"Man, this guy hasn't moved for hours." One of the young men said.

"Dude, don't you know? He's a mime. Were supposed to be impressed by this." Said the other, waving his hand in front of the mime's face. He stepped up on his toes to get a closer look at this guys pupils. They were incredibly dialated.

The girl leaned up on the tips of her toes as well and snapped her fingers a few times in front of his face, becoming somewhat concerned for him even though she had no idea who he was. It was unnatural for anyone to be this still for such a lengthy amount of time, but he was still completely oblivious to their presences.

_Awaken, Strings! Go and find Yugi and relieve him of his Millennium Puzzle!_

After hearing his master's call, the mime instantly sprang to life, reaching into the shoulder bag hanging from his arm and pulling out a Duel Disk. He slid it onto his wrist with one clean motion then hopped off from the bench, skillfully avoiding those around him and took off in pursuit of his prey.

Skylar had temporarily stirred Deirdre from his defeated stupor just long enough to get him to move under a shaded outdoor café. He leaned on his elbows and stared blankly out into the distance, watching another duel take place. Something he could never do again with success.

He slowly removed a duel monsters card from his pocket and gave it a look over. It was the Incinerator card, but because he didn't have the Flame Champion anymore it was useless and had no reason to be taking up space in his deck. But then again, he would never use his deck again so really why did it matter what was in it?

"Are you still feeling sorry for yourself?" Skylar asked walking back over to the table holding two chocolate smoothes. Deirdre didn't ask for anything but nothing was better at soothing the mind and body than a large amount of liquefied sugar. "C'mon, Deirdre! Snap out of it! Everyone loses some times, so why should you just give up after one measly defeat?"

"I wasn't ready," he said quietly.

Skylar sat down and took a sip of her drink. "You what?"

"I wasn't ready," he repeated. "I wasn't ready for this tournament. I'm not good enough to be here."

She sighed and shook her head in disagreement. "No, you do deserve to be here. Now I, however, was way too inexperienced. I don't know why Kaiba sent me that impersonal two-sentence letter and had someone else forge his signature. He must have just gone through the stack of local duelists really fast."

Deirdre looked up at her and shook his head. "I think he chose right. You can at least take a defeat without loosing your will to live."

"Oh, will you stop it!" She shouted, diverting the attention of all nearby people over to their table. She shot them all a furious glance and they quickly mumbled back into their own conversations. "Deirdre, listen to me. You still have a locator card so you not out of this yet. I'm going to find you another challenge so just wait here."

With lightning-quick reflexes he snatched her by the forearm and dragged her back into her seat, all without even looking up. "No, thank you. I'll find my own challenge." He slid back his plastic bucket seat and stood up.

"Oh, I knew you could make a comeback!"

He shrugged like it was no big deal. "I just got tired of your 'good sportsmanship' speeches." He picked up his Duel Disk from the table and walked with it in hand into the crowd.

He saw many potential duelists, but it was strange for him to go and pick someone out like he was picking the juiciest lobster at a seafood bar. Plus this would be the clincher for him. If he lost this time, he would be out of locator cards, his second rarest card, and the Battle City Tournament. He didn't want to just choose any pushover but his subliminal mind also told him not to pick a grand champion or a regional finalist. Someone high in their star ranking but not the best.

"Duelist, turn around and face your fate."

Deirdre raised his eyebrow and turned his neck to look over his shoulder. A kid who stood at about the height of Deirdre's waste and had deeply recessed cheekbones stood there with a psychotic grin on his face and a Duel Disk strapped on his wrist. His straight, static blue hair completed what was possibly the creepiest-looking person imaginable.

"Greetings, friend. Do me the pleasure of sending you into oblivion?"

_'Well, that was easy enough,'_ Deirdre thought.

"Umm...yeah, sure. Why not?"

_'Because your gonna lose, that's why not.'_

"Wonderful!" The kid shouted and clapped his hands together. "I look forward to it! My friends call me Bones, but you can call me that anyway." He took out his deck and pushed it into the reader on his Disk. "Sorry if this is all happening to fast, but I'm in a hurry to get to the secret location of the tournament finals. How many locator cards do you have?"

Deirdre sighed and held up his index finger. "Just one."

Bones let out a truly ghastly laugh. His eyes even rolled into the back of his head, showing the whites of his irises. "Well, this should be easy enough! Prepare to meet the worst onslaught of zombie monsters you've ever seen!"

He gave a curt nod and loaded his deck. The two backed up a few meters (that sadistic smile never left Bones' face) and they launched their holo-imagers. Deirdre watched with growing hesitation and even fear as a crowd began to gather. 'Man, they're like flies. They come and swarm around the leftovers almost immediately. I don't know if I can do this.'

"Yeah, Deirdre!" Skylar said from the front of the crowd, pumping her fist into the air. "Let's go! Pummel this guy and you'll be back in the game!"

Bones shook his head. "You don't stand a chance. My deck is infested with all kinds of rare and exotic zombie monsters! This tournament will be your grave, Deirdre!" Bones paused, looked around nervously for a moment then leaned forward and whispered: "Umm...that is your name, isn't it?"

Deirdre snorted with impertinence but nodded.

"Well then!" He started up again immediately with the terror act. "Let us begin so I can move on to my next victim!"

Deirdre watched as his life point meter reset and they both drew their starting duel hands. _'All right, this is it. This determines my continuation in the Battle City Tournament. I have to remain focused and not listen to this guys babbling. I have to win. I have too.'_


	7. Ch 6: The Deadman's Hand

**Chapter Six**

_The Deadman's Hand_

Sara Masako, Deirdre's mother, sat with her hands in her lap as she watched the Kaiba Corp. television station earnestly. Her son had just accepted a duel and they were both just beginning to draw their starting hands.

Just then the front door flew open and her husband bolted in, headed straight for their bedroom. She silently scolded him for leaving the front door wide open. As he came back a minute later mumbling something about being in a dreadful hurry, Sara interrupted his mad dash and waved him over. His current tardiness forgotten, he complied.

"Honey, Deirdre is starting a duel. Oh, you don't think him losing that last one will affect him, do you?"

Her husband looked down at her blankly. "He lost?"

*~*~*~*~* 

"Let's get this party started, shall we?" Bones cackled and laid down a monster card. "I summon the Headless Knight in attack mode!" On the field before him, a disembodied suit of armor appeared, wielding a long silver blade.

Deirdre glimpsed his hand and already began to doubt his skills. This hand was horrible. The only monster card he had that didn't require a tribute was one of his three Darkfire Soldier #1's. While it was plenty strong enough to defeat Bones' knight, it would leave him wide open for a counter attack. And he had no magic or trap cards with which to prevent that.

Deirdre calmed himself with a deep breath and looked over his shoulder. Skylar was still there, looking at him with those hazel eyes of hers. She didn't have to say a thing for him to know she was encouraging him. "All right," he said, pulling the Darkfire Soldier from his hand. "I play the Darkfire Soldier #1 in attack mode. Now, go and destroy the Headless Knight!"

Bones looked honestly surprised, like such a basic strike was something he didn't believe his opponent capable of. He groaned irritably when Deirdre's warrior severed his own monster away from the lower half of his body.

Deirdre nodded approvingly at the scene. He also grinned lightly as Bones' life points dropped from the original 4000 down to an unfortunate 3750. "Well, this duel might not be quite so simple after all. Don't you agree?"

Bones shook his head then drew a card. "Your boasting is ill advised, Deirdre. Believe it or not, I planned that, and it worked just how I knew it would." He grinned and placed another monster down in defense mode. "Now I'll continue on with my strategy. I play the Whiptailed Crow in defense mode!" Before him appeared a black-feathered bird which squawked angrily and covered its face with its wings. "Now, please, destroy him."

_'Now that is a bit suspicious, but he obviously wouldn't have played a monster that weak when he knows I can easily destroy it and not have something planned. He's luring me into something so I'll just have to wait it out.' _

Deirdre drew another card and placed it into his hand. He could now perform a sacrifice and bring out his much stronger Twin-Headed Fire Dragon, but if he played another non-tribute monster, like the one he just drew, he would be able to take out Bones' defense and attack his life points directly. Yes, that was the correct method this turn.

_'If I don't attack then I might be falling for a big double tribute monster. Even if that isn't what he is planning I can't risk it.' _

"All right, I play the Darkfire Soldier #2 in attack mode!" Alongside his other burning warrior appeared a second, holding one large flaming blade instead of two. "Now, both of you attack! Destroy the Whiptail Crow and attack his life points!"

One of the Darkfire Soldier's rushed straight at the crow, slicing it dead and burning its black feathers to gray ash with his sword. The other charged past his companion, slashing at Bones' and dropping his life points down to 2050. However, the intimidation factor Deirdre planned didn't seem to be working. After the incredibly real holographic attack was over, Bones smiled.

"Your attempts are pathetic, Deirdre, however, I do commend you. Your a better duelist than I thought." He drew another card, laughed wickedly and placed it face-down on the field. "However, the end result will be the same. Your lead right now is only that because I allowed it! You cannot possibly defeat me and my zombie army!"

The crowd surrounding the two cheered along with Bones' large boast. Apparently he was the favorite between the two. But Deirdre didn't need outsider encouragement to win this fight. He just needed Skylar, and she was still clapping and rooting for him amidst the one-sided applause for his opponent.

"Now, again I play a monster in defense mode. The Thirteenth Grave!" A ragged, rotting skeleton appeared leaning on a massive rusted sword. The hideous creature laughed--a truly haunting sound--and hid further behind its sword.

Deirdre scowled and drew again. Now would be a good time to sacrifice so he pulled the Twin-Headed Fire Dragon card from his hand and placed it on the field. "I'm tired of trying to guess your big strategy, Bones, but I figure that isn't going to be enough anymore. I sacrifice the Darkfire Soldier #2 and summon my Twin-Headed Fire Dragon to the field in attack mode!"

His previous warrior vanished in a geyser of white pixels and in its placed appeared the giant floating, double-headed monster. Each of its head's independently looked around then focused on Bones' zombie monster simultaneously and released a roar so fearsome it legitimately frightened half the crowd.

Bones nodded, still completely un-intimidated and relying entirely on his mystery strategy. "Make your move, Deirdre. Attack with your monsters and see what happens."

Now he began to assume this big strategy orbited around that face-down card. It could be something as powerful and incredibly rare as the Mirror Force card, but it was unlikely Bones had such a card in his deck. Deirdre showed his enjoyment of the lead he had and looked toward his two monsters. "Darkfire Soldier, attack and destroy the Thirteenth Grave."

His monster complied, slicing the defending monster right across the front of its sword, destroying both the flimsy weapon and its operator. But of course, being in defense mode, Bones took no life point damage.

"Now, dragon! Finish off his life points!"

Bones shook his finger, mocking Deirdre like he had made an amateur mistake. Perhaps he had. "Ah, ah ah. Not quite. Activate face-down card! Shadow Spell!"

The holographic image of Bones' face-down card flipped up and revealed the ball of twisted black chains. The image then separated itself from its flat, two-dimensional card and assaulted Deirdre's dragon with dozens of separate chains. Each one immobilizing a different part of the dragon's body and stopping its attack.

Deirdre gasped at the scene before him, but his expression of surprise became one of anger when Bones' started his hysteric laughter. "Didn't see that one coming, did you? Well, your going to pay for it, Deirdre." He drew a card but paid it no heed to it as he pulled a different one from his hand and held it up. "This was my strategy." He set it down on the field and before Deirdre appeared a human-shaped, grotesque beast with an emotionless face. 

"I summon my ultimate undead creature by removing the three Fiend-type monsters you sent to my Graveyard from play! Dark Necrofear in attack mode!" Bones' new monster stepped forward and hissed, like a snake only it sounded more like releasing steam. "Not that I couldn't have destroyed your monster before without the need of Shadow Spell, but now it is weakened by seven hundred points so Dark Necrofear can easily obliterate it! Now my monster! Destroy the Twin-Headed Fire Dragon!"

Dark Necrofear cupped its hands and formed a pitch-black sphere of energy, which dripped goo like it was crude oil. Then like a professional baseball player, the monster pulled back its hand and threw the attack toward its foe, which collided and instantly shrouded Deirdre's dragon in an aura of perpetual darkness. After a second of agonized howling, his dragon disintegrated.

Deirdre cursed his luck as he watched his life points plummeted from full to 3300. He was still winning, but against this new monster, he wasn't sure how long that would last.

Meanwhile...

Serenity Wheeler sat quietly in her bed at the hospital staring out the window overlooking Domino City, currently also the Battle City Tournament. Though she couldn't see anything, she believed that her brother was currently dueling and wished him the best.

_'It gets awfully lonely in here,' _she thought, wishing that someone, anyone, would pay her a visit. At this point it could have been her most hated enemy and she still would have enjoyed the company. Her sharp ears then picked up the doorknob turning and she turned her head in the direction of the door.

"Serenity?" Came a female voice. Serenity immediately recognized it as that of her nurse. "It's time to check your temperature."

"All right," she said quietly and turned away, blankly centered the wall not far ahead of her. She was completely silent while the nurse fumbled inside of a bag, withdrew a thermometer and gently tapped Serenity's chin. She opened her mouth and allowed the nurse to place the thermometer under her tongue.

A few minutes past, the nurse had temporarily left to check on another patient but promptly returned and placed her cool palm against her patient's forehead. She nodded, satisfied that the surgery hadn't made Serenity's body more susceptible to illness, and then checked the thermometer. Her temperature was perfectly normal.

"Okay, Serenity. You've made amazing progress. I never knew you were such a fighter but all your tests and precautions have come back fine. It will still be at least a week before we can remove the bandages from your eyes but I don't see why you have to be confined to your room anymore." She smiled, though she knew that Serenity couldn't see it. But it seemed that her patient was just as happy as she was.

"Oh, that is soooo great to here! I want to go down to the tournament and watch...I mean, _be _with my brother for his duels."

The nurse's look of joy weakened a bit. "I really don't think that is such a good idea. Especially by yourself. You could be hurt or taken advantage of in your condition."

Serenity frowned then furled her lip. She had an idea and turned back to the nurse looking just as happy as she did before. "What if I got someone to come along with me?"

The nurse nodded and shrugged. "I suppose that would be okay, but I still don't want you out at all hours of the night. You'll come back here everyday before five 'o clock and you must promise me that you won't take off your bandages. If anything gets into your eyes it could ruin the fragile healing process and you would never have a chance of seeing again."

Serenity nodded understandably.

"All right then. Who do you want me to reach as your chaperone?"

Serenity already had who she wanted to accompany her in mind. "Most definitely my brother, Joey."

The nurse smiled and patted her shoulder tenderly. "No problem. I'll use the number he gave me in case of emergencies to contact him."

Serenity was so happy to not only be leaving her claustrophobic room but to also be with her beloved brother that she nearly fell out of her bed in jubilation. "Oh, please do hurry! I can't wait!" When the nurse left as quickly as her patient prodded, Serenity pulled back the blankets and kicked her bunny-slippered feet over the side of her bed. She experimentally stepped down, gathering her bearings before remembering the complications of how to walk, then had to stop and wonder about something.

"I wonder if I could convince Joey to let me duel once?"

*~*~*~*~* 

"I can see your losing hope, duelist." Taunted Bones, grinning from ear to ear. "And understandably so. You don't stand a chance against my all-powerful Dark Necrofear! He is completely unstoppable, and he'll become even more so when I add a small something to his arsenal. But until then, it is your turn. Use it wisely now!"

Deirdre scoffed fearlessly at his opponent's threats and drew a card. Surprisingly, it was something that could turn this bleak situation around for the better. But the strategy forming in his mind required something more, so until then, if then, he could only defend. "All right, I switch my Darkfire Soldier #1 into defense mode, and play this, the Lady Assailant of Flames in defense mode." Appearing before him was a beautiful woman with long crimson hair and an aura of fire surrounding her body. She kneeled down and raised up her arms, protecting her face and signifying that she was played in the defensive.

Deirdre swallowed and prepared for the attack with a deep breath. "All right, I end my turn."

Skylar cupped her hands like she was praying and bowed her head. "C'mon, Deirdre. Please tell me you have something planned."

"Well! That is all you can do, isn't it?" Bones laughed again and drew a card, then smiled nefariously at the results. "Perfect. This will give me even more monsters with which to defend me. I lay this card face-down and play another. The magic card Dead Down!"

Deirdre curiously raised his eyebrow, unaware of that card.

"Must I explain it? Very well. Dead Down allows me to take a monster card from my hand and instantly send it to the Graveyard pile." Bones cackled and drew a card from his hand, then ejected it into his Duel Disk's removal slot. 

"What good will that do you?" Deirdre questioned. Everyone else watching the duel seemed to question the intelligence of such a move as well.

"It does me a lot of good, fool. Just think about the possibilities in a zombie-based deck!" Bones spread out his hands, beckoning for his face-down card to be revealed. "I activate my hidden card, Premature Burial!" The image of the card appeared on the field and a ghastly rotting hand appeared, shot forward and buried itself into the ground.

Deirdre watched more out of interest than fear of what could be happening. He knew what this card did and was beginning to see the logic behind playing Dead Down.

The hand began to raise back out of the ground, and in its clutches was another monster. Bones' first destroyed zombie monster, the Headless Knight.

"My Premature Burial returns my Headless Knight card to the field! And because I put another monster in its place before with Dead Down, my powerful Dark Necrofear is still in play and ready to steam roll your life points! All I have to do is get through your defenses first and I doubt that will be much of a problem."

His Headless Knight joined the fight again, positioning itself in attack mode. "Dark Necrofear! Attack the Darkfire Soldier!" 

His monster growled and hurled another ball of pitch-black energy, which struck Deirdre's monster with a loud, crackling explosion and spray of expended data. The holographic monster was reduced to dust and its attacker returned to its place.

"Headless Knight! Decapitate his other monster!"

The Headless Knight charged forward, brandishing his russet steel sword and chopped the head clean off of Deirdre's Lady Assailant of Flames. She gave a single piercing shriek before permanently departing the field minus her most important extremity.

Deirdre balled his fists and shook his head, preparing to embrace defeat. Bones' laughter echoed over the cheers and jeers of the crowd, and he tried his damnedest to ignore it all. But the feeling of impending failure flooded over him again and he couldn't help but think that this was the end. He raised his hand and prepared to cover his deck and concede defeat.

"DEIRDRE!!!"

That scream rose above all the other spectators. He flipped his head around and saw Skylar still standing there, and this time she wasn't looking very pleased. Apparently she saw what he was going to do and wasn't about to let him give up. "How can you just roll over and surrender? You can still win this! This is nothing! You can beat Bones, you just have to think! You must have a way!"

_'I do have a way,' _he thought sourly, _'but it won't work anymore. That Dead Down card ruined the whole th...hey, wait a minute.' _Deirdre looked over his hand and saw one of two cards that could fix this. He grinned and looked back up at Bones with a new feeling of determination. His old strategy forgotten, he focused on the new one.

_'All right, Yugi Motou. If that Heart of the Card's crap has any bearing then now is the time that it proved itself.'_

"Okay, Bones. You haven't won this yet so stop your rambling." He drew a card from his deck and smiled. 

It was the one. 

The final card to complete the approach that would win him this game. Bones' own preference would be his downfall. "All right, watch this! I play my own monster to the field! I remove one Pyro-type monster from my Graveyard and set the Spirit of Flames in attack mode! For every turn that passes it'll get three hundred more attack points!"

Bones shrugged, brushing it off as a poor excuse of going down in a proverbial blaze of glory. "It won't be enough! You would need at least three turns to pass before that pathetic spirit could have even the bare minimum of attack points needed to destroy my Dark Necrofear, but it won't even last this one! You've lost! Just admit it!"

"But I haven't lost," Deirdre chided and set down another card. "I play the Temporary Reprieve card, which takes any one of your monsters of my choice and returns it to the top of your deck. I, of course, decide on your Dark Necrofear."

Bones watched in mock amusement as his strongest monster vanished. He nodded and took the card from his dueling plate and set it back on top of his deck. "So what? I still have the three Fiend-type monsters needed in my Graveyard to summon him back! Next turn, you'll have the same problems facing you down all over again! That card did just what it said, gave you but a temporary reprieve."

"Oh, shut up for a minute, will ya?" Deirdre berated, startling Bones but getting quite an amused smile out of Skylar. "I also play this card, Prestidigitation! If I correctly guess the top card of your deck I get to summon it to my side of the field and control it!"

Bones gasped and began to violently shake his head. "N-no! Impossible! You can't possibly have such a combination! You can't _possibly_ have outsmarted me!"

"I didn't," Deirdre snickered and placed the magic card down on the field. "Your over-confidence is what defeated you. So anyway, the top card in your deck is Dark Necrofear!"

Bones sulked pitifully and drew the card, then set it onto his dueling plate like he was about to summon it himself, but the image appeared on Deirdre's side of the field, and Dark Necrofear, the correctly guessed monster, appeared as one of his combatants.

"I don't believe it!" Bones breathed. "This can't be happening to me!"

"Oh, but it is! Now, Spirit of Flames attack! Burning Soul Blast!"

The blazing apparition howled insidiously, spreading a hot wind throughout the area then focusing it on the Headless Knight, immediately reducing it to sparkling cinders. The attack caused life point damage in the amount of 250.

"And Dark Necrofear! Attack and finish off Bones' life points!"

Just has he had done with so many weaker monsters before, the zombie fiend crushed the remainder of his previous masters life points with a strike of pure black energy. Bones screamed with frustration, anger, and even betrayal as his life points dropped from 1800 to zero.

The crowd very quickly changed their allegiance over to Deirdre, and cheered wildly as he stepped forward and towered over his fallen opponent. Skylar clapped her hands at Mach speeds and ran forward, leaping onto Deirdre's back and showering his glistening black hair with kisses. 

"Skylar! C'mon, you're making a scene!"

"But you won! YOU WON!!!" She pointed down at her dueling teacher with a massive grin on her face. "Hey, everyone! He freakin' won!"

"Hey now, you make it sound like I never had a chance."

Bones sighed miserably and collected his cards, then activated the magnetized return for his holo-imagers. After a moment of complete silence, he returned to his feet and held out his locator card and his rarest Duel Monsters card, Dark Necrofear. _'And this time I didn't even have Keith riding me.'_

"All right, you defeated me fair and square. Take them."

Deirdre snatched the two cards from his opponent's hand and pocketed them. He was about to turn and walk away without a word, leaving Bones to sit and lament over his loss, but Skylar gestured back with her head. After it didn't seem like he was getting it, she leaned in and whispered into Deirdre's ear: "C'mon, shake his hand. Don't be a poor sport."

Deirdre grumbled and held out his hand hesitantly. "It _was _a good duel. You have no reason to feel badly about it. If that is how you fight in all duels then I am sure that you will go far in this tournament." After a moment of just staring, Bones accepted his hand. "How many locator cards do you have left?"

Bones sighed and shook his head. "None now. I only had one."

Now that pissed him off. Bones had acted so smugly, like he was just breezing through this tournament, bowling over any and all challenges. But he was in the same boat that Deirdre was the entire time and honestly never had the advantage. "Well, then I guess you won't be going any further in this tournament."

"Deirdre!"

He looked over at Skylar and shrugged. "What?"

"No, you have every right to be angry." Bones offered and turned around. "I deceived you and paid for it with defeat. But, don't savor this victory long, Deirdre! I will be back one day for my Dark Necrofear, and when I do you _will_ lose. Guaranteed." He grinned and gave Deirdre a thumbs-up.

Deirdre nodded and returned the gesture.

The crowd dispersing, Bones walked away, sliding off his Duel Disk as he did so. Deirdre and Skylar watched him leave but didn't do the same or even move for a few seconds after he was out of sight. 

"Well," Skylar started, offering her companion a warm smile. "Whataya say we go get a few hot-dogs and then go look for your next challenge?"

Deirdre nodded then flipped around and walked along with her toward the food court. "Yeah, I still have to find Griff Terrace. He isn't going to cheat me out of a duel. I want that Toon World."

Skylar rolled her eyes. "Is that really so important? I mean, you just got a really powerful card. Aren't you satisfied yet?"

Deirdre shook his head like that question was completely ridiculous, then reached into his pocket and took out his new monster. "This monster is strong but I don't have any Fiend-type monsters in my deck, and three are required to bring it to the field. What am I going to do with it?"

Skylar scratched her chin for a moment then crossed one arm over her chest and leaned her head on the other, seemingly lost in deep thought. "Well, if I remember correctly from what you taught me last night, you have a couple of cards in your deck that could still bring it out for you."

He let that settle for a moment then nodded agreeably. "Your right, I do. Hey, your getting pretty good at this. Shame you had to leave the tournament so early."

Skylar blushed and offered an embarrassed smile. "Aww...shucks."


	8. Ch 7: A Millennium Discovered

**Chapter Seven**

_A Millennium Discovered_

**_Author's Note: _**I bet none of you saw this coming. I planned to add some element of mystery involving the Millennium Items but even I didn't think it would end up like this. Well, I hope you all like it; I worked hard on this chapter.

*~*~*~*

"You okay, sis?" 

Joey's little sister, Serenity, had her arm hooked into the crook of her big brothers arm and was walking simply in the direction that he led her. But even without her most important sense to help her she had something better in the form of the love her brother expressed for her. She knew that he wouldn't lead her astray in her vulnerable state, not even as a joke. "Yes, I'm fine. By the way, what time is it?"

Joey looked down at her slightly confused. "Does it matter?"

She giggled and shook her head. "No, I suppose not. But I am curious as to whether its night or day."

Joey smiled and continued to lead her out of the hospital where Tristan, Téa, and Solomon Motou sat waiting their return. When they walked out, Tristan grinned and jetted over, knocking Joey out of the way and replacing his arm as Serenity's crutch. "Hey, take a brake there, Joey ol' pal! You got more duels to win, remember?"

Joey's face burned bright red as he snatched Tristan around the throat and tossed him aside. He stopped his sisters confused marching with his presence and braced her again. "Don't quit yer day job, Tristan. My little sister is going to be in the next duel, not me."

Tristan got to his feet, brushed himself off and joined back alongside Téa, who was also smiling. Apparently, she didn't think the thought of a blind duelist as crazy as it sounded. "That's so great that your letting your little sister duel, Joey. You wanna borrow my deck, Serenity?"

Joey snickered and waved Téa's proposal away like it wasn't even feasible. "Hey, no offense Téa, but Serenity's gonna win, and to do that she's gonna need a good deck, so she'll be usin' mine. With me tellin' her every card she draws, all the ones in her hand, and givin' her a few pointers, there's no way she's gonna lose. Right, sis?"

Serenity smiled and nodded, then fumbled around with the zipper of the loose hooded sweater she wore. In place of her pink pajamas, she wore a black skirt and thigh-high stockings. Laced hiking boots reached to her knees and her beautiful chocolate-brown hair was tied into a ponytail but two unruly locks still dangled over the gauze covering her eyes. "Umm...Joey, you never answered my question."

Joey had already led her into sitting down next to him on a nearby row of chairs outside of the hospital and was thumbing threw his deck, preparing the cards ahead of time. He looked up at her and blinked in confusion. "Huh? What question?"

Téa and Tristan remembered and snickered quietly to one another.

Serenity smiled wider and cocked her head innocently to the side. "What time is it?"

Mr. Motou, out of habit, looked at his wristwatch. His grandson, Yugi Motou, jokingly called that "sporadic Alzheimer's."

Joey smiled, continuing to fumble with the cards in his dueling deck. He held up the Alligator Sword card and replaced it behind the Swordsman of Landstar. "Its daytime, sis."

*~*~*~*~*

"What time is it?" Deirdre asked his companion, Skylar, who looked up at him from her strawberry smoothie. 

She wiped a pink mustache from her upper lip with her sleeve and looked at her upside-down wristwatch. "Almost 3:00."

He nodded and turned around halfway in his plastic bucket seat, searching the expansive crowd for a possible dueling challenge. They hadn't moved from their comfortable and shaded spot under the canopy of the café for an hour, mostly because Skylar had adamantly protested against it. Though he didn't mind, it was nice to sit and relax for once instead of panicking and doubting your personal skills. 

He didn't have much choice in that either. If he had lost to Bones or never even worked up the courage to challenge him, then she probably would have slapped him by now just to knock him out of his reverie of misery. She was tired of his complaining and he was tired of having to subject her too it.

Strange, he had only known her for just over a day and she had already become the best friend he had ever had. And he would admit it to her if she ever asked, but she didn't so there was no reason to embarrass himself needlessly. But she probably would have admitted to the same thing. He had occasionally seen her at school, dressing like and hanging out with the popular people, but she never seemed to pay them much attention to them. She gave him all the courtesy that a true friend would, and he appreciated her for it.

"Ooo, ooo! Look!" Skylar cheered, pointing over Deirdre's shoulder. 

He turned and followed the direction her finger was gesturing; apparently it was to a blue-haired boy not far away who was competing in a duel. If Deirdre remembered correctly, that was Espa Roba, the so-called "Psychic Duelist." However, not long ago Joey Wheeler dispelled that rumor as nothing more than an elaborate hoax. Though from where he was sitting, Deirdre could make out Espa holding his fingers to his head and chanting like he was channeling the "cosmic forces." Apparently he still used that phony ESP stuff in order to psyche out his opponents. And it seemed to be working quite well.

"Battle him! You can take him, just ignore all that psychic garbage he spouts!"

Deirdre shrugged and stood up. "All right, but I'm going to go the bathroom first. When I get back he should be done with his present duel and then I'll challenge him."

"K." Skylar watched him walk off into the restaurant and vanish behind the tinted windows. She turned back to the distant duel then stood up and skipped over so she could listen in on Espa Roba's feigned psychic abilities. Deirdre would appreciate knowing more about his opponent before actually getting into the duel. Ever the strategist, Skylar was.

Meanwhile...

Deirdre walked through the restaurant, dodging by people balancing their food on flimsy plastic trays and another guy mopping the floor. He nearly collided into the "Watch your Step" foldout sign but made it safely past the gauntlet and entered the men's restroom.

But the moment he entered he began to feel lightheaded, and it wasn't because of the stench. He stood motionless for a second to gather his bearings then stumbled over to the sink and stooped over the faucet, shoveling water into his face hoping to alleviate the queasiness overtaking his senses. Now he believed that he was going to vomit, and just before the taste reached his tongue he instantly felt fine. Like the sudden illness had never hit him at all.

He stepped back and stared at himself in the mirror. His face was still slightly green from the feeling of nausea, but other than that and the pressing need for him to relieve himself nothing was wrong. He turned, preparing to enter a stall, but then his reflection in the mirror began to contort and the background turned pitch black.

Deirdre gasped and turned around, but all he saw was burnished linoleum tiles and the baby-changing center. He flipped back to the mirror and the darkness was gone. Not a single shred remained. 

"I must be catching something," and again he attempted to approach a stall, but the moment he took a step forward a hole opened up in the ground before him. He panicked and jumped back, this time nearly falling into another open cavity behind him. He stumbled and backed up into the sink, then hopped and sat on top of the counter. The two holes began to grow larger and were soon engulfing the entire bathroom. When one of the holes touched a wall, the wall slowly began to melt away into a black empty void.

Deirdre began to sweat nervously, but also out of fear. "S-someone h-help!"

He turned to see the door was now also black nothingness. Then the first hole he nearly fell into touched the sink, and it instantly vanished, dropping him into the vast darkness below him. He gave one frightened yelp before his voice was cut off.

However, the fall was short-lived. He hit the ground rather hard, but it didn't feel like he was hurt. He crawled to his feet and looked around insanely, seeing nothing but perpetual darkness all around him. And the worst of all was that his overwhelmed mind could not find any explanation for this phenomenon.

"W-where a-am I?" He stuttered, taking slow, experimental steps backward. Just as he was about to scream he backed into a solid object, and when he turned around he still saw nothing but darkness. He pounded on what seemed to be a hollow wall, because with every pound would follow a loud booming knock. He tried to push the object, but it wouldn't budge. He got frustrated and kicked the object, hard, but it didn't move and even the force, which should have broken his foot, didn't.

At the moment, he took comfort in at least having the object there and despite his complete lack of knowledge of where he was, he sat down and propped himself up against the invisible wall. He buried his face in his arms and did everything in his power to resist the urge to cry, and he wanted to. He had never felt so weak and defenseless, so ignorant in his environment.

He looked up from his arms and just as a way to test a possibility, looked at his hands. The likely explanation for all of this was that he wasn't in an invisible room; he was in the dark. But too no avail, he could see his hand just like it was out in the daylight. 

With a heavy sigh he braced himself against the invisible wall behind him and tried to get back to his feet, but then the wall gave away and the scenery around him changed from absolute blackness to a sunny, sandy desert. He gave a confused shout and shot to his feet, looking around for any sign of Battle City or even the dark room he was just in.

What he saw, not too far away, was what appeared to be a large amount of abandoned machinery. That meant people, and possibly answers. So he took into a brisk stride, occasionally stumbling on the loose sand, until he stepped onto a tall sand dune overlooking the site. Now that he could get a wider range of the area, it looked like an archeological dig. He blocked the sun from his eyes with the palm of his hand, but unfortunately saw no people, however he did see a massive pyramid. It was the most spectacular image Deirdre had ever laid eyes on. The site of this structure was so breathtaking that he took a step forward, forgetting that he was on top of the dune, and tripped.

He screamed just before his face hit the harsh sand and did dozens upon dozens of rolls and flips as he cascaded down the hill. After what seemed like the most agonizing hour of his life, (in truth it was only a few seconds) he hit the bottom of the hill and dug his fingers into the sand. He looked up, coughed and began to spit out a large amount of the coarse material.

He groaned and pulled himself up. "This is by far the worst day of my life," he growled, and began to limp toward the pyramid. 

As he neared, he began to feel the cool breeze of the massive shadow the pyramid cast on the scorched sands. Despite his currently dirty and roughed-up body and clothes, he felt much better. 

When he got to the entrance to the pyramid, which was roped off with a long nylon cord, he saw that besides several bulldozers and a crane, there was honestly nothing here that would make someone think that anyone had been here for years. Deciding that his way back might be in the unknown and possible dangerous pyramid, he broke the latch that kept the rope on the far pole and let it drop lifelessly to the ground. He entered the pyramid, not knowing what to expect.

What he got was a very small room ornamented with dozens of hieroglyphics, some depicting things he could never even begin to understand, and others that actually resembled things he recognized. Like Duel Monsters. One was unmistakably the Dark Magician apparently fighting a Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

But that might just be his suddenly vivid imagination talking. The room was centered around one large elevated platform, which had a huge slab of rock on top of it. Deirdre walked around to the side of the tablet and examined it. What he saw, besides more indiscernible hieroglyphics, were six shallow empty holes with exotic shapes. A few he had no idea what could have once fitted inside of them, but one looked like a key. Another resembled a long staff with a winged orb on the tip. Another was in the shape of an upside-down pyramid.

The only one of these holes that still had something inside of it was also the largest. At the very base of the tablet was a golden scale. The craftsmanship that had to have gone into the item was remarkable. It was flawless, even after all these years. The magnificence of the item grabbed at Deirdre as he smoothed his hand over the face of the object, which had a warped lidless eye grafted into it.

The same idealized eye was at the very apex of the tablet, and in several places around the room. And even stranger was that even though Deirdre knew he shouldn't be messing with something of this indubitable rarity, he found that he could not help himself, and with both of his marred hands he removed the golden scale from its socket. He was careful to make sure that neither of the trays accidentally broke off from their chains.

He tested the object's weight in his hands and it was really very light, amazing for something fashioned out of solid gold, but he had experienced stranger things today. As he looked over the object, his eye caught the extrinsic deformed eye in the center of the scale. Immediately his mind was filled with a wealth of foreign information and when he looked back at the tablet, he could understand all the writing he saw. He looked around the room and could also perfectly comprehend all of the ancient text there as well.

"Amazing," he breathed, and let the scale drop to his side, completely oblivious to the fact that it could be damaged in such a position. Deirdre walked over to the western wall and began to gorge himself on the knowledge he read. 

He interpreted much about ancient battles waged in a place called the "Shadow Realm." Grand battles not fought for mere material wealth or power, but for the fate of kingdoms and whole civilizations, even worlds. He read that holy priests with magical powers would fight these duels with monsters summoned from the Shadow Realm, just like in the popular card game that he so greatly enjoyed. 

Deirdre soon lost all track of time as he just continued to side step and read more and more information. But by far the most interesting was the very last bit on the eastern wall, which told of seven magical items of unbelievable power. These items each held a portion of a force so mighty that if one gathered all of them together, he or she could conquer the world unhindered. The seven items were called the Millennium Items, and they were supposedly hidden away in the tomb of a great pharaoh where they would never be found and used, whether it be for good or evil purposes.

As he read, the names of each item became known. The Millennium Puzzle, the Millennium Key, the Millennium Necklace, the Millennium Rod, the Millennium Ring, the Millennium Eye, and the Millennium Balance, which Deirdre himself currently held.

Deirdre scrolled past all the information about the other six items and went straight to his at the bottom. He began to read aloud to himself as if others were around awaiting the results of what he found. "The Millennium Balance is the item that weighs greatly upon the spirits of many. It ties all other items together and wields the ability to discern a pure heart when set against a fair feather."

Deirdre stood back and swallowed, letting the magnitude of this situation settle in. He then held it up again and stared back at himself in its polished surface. "Wields the ability to discern a pure heart when set against a fair feather? What the Hell does that mean?"

"You'll soon come to understand, my friend," came a light voice behind him.

Deirdre flipped around and held up the Millennium Balance defensively, prepared to use it as a bludgeoning weapon if need be. The person he saw was a dark-skinned man wearing a long robe and a turban on his head. Also held up before him like a weapon was the Millennium Key. Deirdre knew what it was instantly. He didn't have to see it to know; he had just read it.

"You are the new guardian of the Millennium Balance and I can give you but one piece of information: Use it wisely. Do not let the thought of greed overtake you. Try to harmonize with your item and use its powers for good." The man grinned lightly and lowered his item; in turn Deirdre did the same. "However, I cannot choose your destiny for you. Use your newfound power however you wish. In the meantime, I am sending you back home, where you can further reflect on these events in peace."

The same familiar feeling of nausea struck Deirdre like a bus, only this time it was twice as potent and he could barely even focus on the man before him let alone ask him any questions. Though one did manage to escape his lips before he completely vanished into the ether. "What is your name?!"

The man smiled again. "Next time we meet, and it will be soon, you will address me as Shadi."

And then all was dark.

*~*~*~*~*

Deirdre awoke coughing, spitting up not only grains of sand but also blood. He immediately wanted to get to his feet but he was restrained. Then three distinct voices came to be, but his vision was so blurred that he couldn't have even pictured their faces in his mind's eye. However, one was unmistakably Skylar's.

"Deirdre, please don't move! We've called an ambulance. We think you slipped and hit your head."

"D-d-didn't s-slip..."

"Keep him still, Roy! He might have broken his neck!" A man's voice said.

"I know, I know..." another man spoke, but his voice was much younger than that of his companion.

"Where the hell is the ambulance?! You called them ten minutes ago!"

"Miss, please, try to remain calm. Your friend is going to be all right."

"All right? ALL RIGHT?!! Look at him! He looks like he could croak at any moment! Call them again!"

"N-not goin' to d-diiiee..." 

"Stop talking, Deirdre! You're only going to make it worse!"

Then his vision went black again, however he could still hear the frantic screaming of Skylar and the voice of the other man trying to get her to stay calm or leave the restroom. The man who was holding Deirdre still was quiet except for his repetitive grumbling whenever the other man scolded him for accidentally rocking Deirdre's neck.

Not long afterwards, the ambulance arrived and whisked Deirdre off to the hospital. The entire time Deirdre knew he wasn't seriously injured because from the moment he snapped back into reality he slowly began to feel better. By the time he was in the emergency room being prepped for X-rays, he felt completely fine, however an amazing sense of fatigue racked his body and he couldn't have even twitched a leg if he wanted to. And he did, he so desperately wanted to get to his feet.

The doctors found nothing broken, not even bruised, and released him from the hospital a few hours later in the company of his parents. They could give no explanation for what happened in the restroom and assumed it might have been a spastic seizure. Deirdre's parents didn't buy it. 

Skylar never once left his side but was eventually ordered home. Her mother had to come and forcefully remove her from her friend's company.

When Deirdre got home, he managed to find the strength to drag himself up to his room and crash onto his bed. His parents obviously wanted to talk but he wasn't in the mood for it. They gave him back his Duel Disk, which was left on the café table with Skylar, and bid him goodnight.

Then the moment he was alone his strength miraculously returned and he didn't feel like he would be able to sleep until sometime late next week. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and rubbed his face, trying to understand the events of that day. 

"Was that all just a hallucination? But, it was so real..."

"...No, it couldn't have been."

As he removed his hands from his face, he noticed a strange feeling that hadn't ever been there before, like something scratching his skin. He looked at his hands and noticed a golden band, one that he had never seen before then and definitely did not ever own. He slid it off his index finger and looked over its surface. He wasn't even that surprised when he found the same warped eye design that was characteristic of all Millennium Items.

With but a simple thought, the ring instantly transformed back into the Millennium Balance. The ring must be its handy travel size. He once again examined the item and once again felt exhausted as the weight of all that he experienced crashed down upon him. Absent-mindedly the Balance reverted to its ring form and took it upon itself to find its way back onto Deirdre's finger.

He then laid back on his pillow and with a short wave of his hand, magically shut out the light. He didn't even notice and fell into a deep slumber.


	9. Ch 8: A Millennium Nightmare

Chapter Eight A Millennium Nightmare 

**_Author's Note: _**The wait wasn't too bad, I hope? Well, anyway here is another chapter in the story _Legend of the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon. _I've been planning this grand-scale event for months now but up until a few nights ago I had no idea how to go about writing it. Eventually, this is what scribbled its way onto my computer and I hope you all like it. I hope it lives up to some expectations as well. And because I so aim to please, I added a larger role for Pharaoh-Malik-Ishtar's favorite false psychic, Espa Roba. It isn't an extremely large part but I hope it is at least satisfactory. And thanks to all of my loyal readers. I really do appreciate it. If you have any requests please let me know.

*~*~*~*

Deirdre awoke bright and early the next day with a crushing headache and a note pinned to his door left by his mother. She said that she and his father were leaving for the day and would not be back until sometime late that night, and that Skylar had called an exorbitant number of times asking if he was all right. 

His extraction from bed was not a pleasant one; though none ever were but this time it was exceptionally awful. He remembered only fragments and disassembled memories from the previous day, but one truly bizarre anamnesis was at the forefront of his mind and that was an elaborate picture of an Egyptian tomb and seven magical items...

_'The Millennium Balance?' _Deirdre recalled while struggling to untangle himself from his blankets and then stumble over to the chair at his computer desk. _'It was a ring on my finger. And I remember another guy who had a key. Yugi Motou...Maximillion Pegasus? Why are these names coming to me all of a sudden? _

Deirdre shook his head, attempting to expel the wild thoughts invading his brain, but then curiosity overtook him and he couldn't help but look at his hand.

Deirdre took one look at his hand, saw the shimmering golden ring and bolted from his room and into the bathroom. Perhaps he was hallucinating and he just needed a cold, a _very _cold shower, to wake him up and get his mind back on track.

After Deirdre completed his morning activities and went downstairs too get some cereal, he took another glimpse at the ring on his hand and lost all control over his body. His muscles felt weak and his mind raw. He crashed onto the living room couch and buried his face into a frilly purple pillow, feeling his wet, shampooed hair shroud over his face.

_'Well...despite how incredibly unbelievable this is, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. I got an extremely powerful magical artifact in my possession. I could use it to demolish everyone at Battle City. I could even use it too take over Industrial Illusions or Kaiba Corp. I could rule the world!'_

_'What are these thoughts?!'_

Deirdre looked up from his spot on the pillow and instantly breathed in a fresh smell that wasn't in the air a minute ago. It smelled like his favorite breakfast foods: ham and eggs, bacon, he could even smell fresh orange juice through the assault upon his senses.

He looked over the back of the couch and into the not-to-distant kitchen, where an assortment of utensils, food boxes and packets, pots and pans and flour dust, were floating threw the air and preparing breakfast. Disbelieving his eyes, he got up and like a zombie, wandered over to observe the sight. And even up close, the scene didn't change. It only became stranger when he felt something prodding him in the arm, and when he turned to see what it was; he found that the newspaper was floating disembodied and apparently asking to be read.

Deirdre took the paper out of the air and gave a silent, vacant thanks. He set it down on the nicely polished counter, which was also being magically cleaned by a now living sponge and bottle of window cleaner, and reached out to grasp the spatula, which was in the process of flipping a pancake. It had no resistance and simply gave way into his hand. When he let go of it, the spatula floated back into the air and resumed its chore.

"Wow," he breathed, then remembered the newspaper and thought it rude not to read it seeing as how it asked so nicely. "This almost seems weird, but it really isn't...I am losing my mind. That's gotta be it." He was about to open up the paper, praying that something stranger had happened in the world, but then remembered the note on his door. "Skylar. Yes, she'll know what to do. She always knows what to do."

Deirdre called Skylar and before he even began speaking she started to shower him with praise of relief. The few times that he could get any word in was when she had to stop to take a breath, and he asked her to come over. She immediately agreed and he gave her directions. 

She was over in about five minutes and the minute she walked in the door she dove to give him a hug, but was cut off when she saw the spectacle of aerial acrobatics performed by the kitchen utensils. Deirdre wasn't so surprised by it now but it was still quite entertaining to watch, even more so when Skylar would point her finger at it and open her mouth like she intended to speak but no words formed. 

Deirdre got up from his stool and moved behind her toward the freshly made pot of coffee. On any normal day he would never have touched the stuff, but this seemed like an appropriate time to start, if only just for this one time. He poured himself some into a white mug that read "World's Greatest Husband" and held up the pot to the still stunned Skylar. "Hey, you want some?"

Skylar shook her head but her mouth remained open and her eyes remained fixed on the scene before her. 

Soon, the silverware and dishes finished and started to make two plates for both Deirdre and his guest. After that was done Skylar's plate levitated down in front of her and Deirdre's in front of him and they began to clean themselves, and then put themselves into the dishwasher. Deirdre brought a stool up behind Skylar, grabbed her gently by the shoulder and forced her to sit down. He did the same and started to eat, and now that the show was over, Skylar looked away and down at her food, which was actually very delicious.

"Umm...Deirdre, may I ask you a question?"

He nodded but didn't stop eating his food.

"What was that? And please, be as brutally honest as you can be."

He nodded and held up his hand brandishing the ring, which glowed a bright golden hue and formed back into the Millennium Balance. It was instantly resting down on the kitchen countertop. Deirdre picked it up by the base and waved it toward her, shrugged, and set it back down next to him.

"Okay," she started, pointing at it like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "So that thing makes your breakfast for you? Does it do your taxes too?! What the heck is going on, Deirdre?! What is happening! EXPLAIN!!!"

"That," he said pointing his fork at the artifact, "Is a Millennium Item. It is a long story but it has some kind of magical power that apparently includes making my breakfast. Hey, I wonder if it will do my laundry?" 

As if cued, the dirty hand towel meant for drying ones hands off on after using the sink, floated up into the air and shot off down the hall toward the laundry room. He nodded his approval. "Sweet."

"But...y-you? This...thing and...how? Who, w-when? I...blah?"

Deirdre took another bite of his stack of pancakes and unfolded the newspaper. Inside was an intriguing article about the current political struggle overseas in the United States. "You'll get used to it. Kind of neat, huh?"

"Yeah, very neat. I'm going to go throw up, now." She reiterated her point by standing up from her seat and backing away from the food that was apparently churning her stomach.

Deirdre rolled his eyes and continued to read. "Don't be so dramatic. It isn't that unbelievable, is it? I mean, when I saw Yugi Motou grow an extra foot instantly the other day I didn't think much of it but it is starting to make a bit more sense. I think he has one of these items." Deirdre then lowered his newspaper and thought back to when he dueled Bakura. Yugi, who was in the crowd cheering his friend on, had a golden puzzle around his neck attached to a thick iron chain. He didn't get a very clear look at it but he remembered one standout feature of the item: it had the eye emblem on it. The same eye that was characteristic of every Millennium Item. Yugi was the guardian of the Millennium Puzzle. The pharaoh's power.

"Interesting," he mumbled, and got up off of his stool. "Skylar, are you going to come with me?"

She looked up at him with the thought of all this magic temporarily forgotten. "Go with you to where?"

He snatched his slightly faded leather-furred bombers jacket from the coat rack put it on. When he turned back to face her, a blazing cerulean flame burned within his eyes. "To Battle City, of course."

*~*~*~*~* 

"Okay, now I know we didn't have time for yer duel yesterday, sis, but don't worry. I'll make sure you get another chance today, okay?" Joey lovingly patted his sister, Serenity, on the shoulder and returned to his deck, which he was shuffling through making sure all the cards were in good order. "With the strategy I got in mind, there's no way yer gonna lose."

Serenity turned her blind gaze upon her brother sitting next to her and sighed. "Umm...Joey, I wanted to do this duel by myself. I appreciate your help and all but it won't be any fun if you tell me everything too do."

Joey looked up from his hand toward her somewhat dumbfounded for a moment, then smiled warmly and shook his head understandingly. "All right, no problem. I'll let you call all the shots. I'm only gonna be there telling you what your holding and what your pullin'."

Serenity smiled wide and hugged Joey across the midsection, nearly spilling the cards from his hands. "Thank you, Joey! Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"

"Aww, man. Joey, you're cutting in on my action." 

Joey's face burned bright red as he turned and faced Tristan, who was standing behind him holding a cardboard tray occupied with three triple-shot mocha latte's and a hot chocolate for Serenity. Téa was standing next to him and saw the anger blazing in Joey's face, quickly snatched the drinks away from Tristan and then ran for cover as Joey dove over the bench and tackled his best friend.

"Joey! He was just joking around!" Serenity pleaded, knowing exactly what was happening by the sounds of pain and mercy switching between the two combatants.

Téa laughed and sat down next to her, then handed her the drink. "Actually, I think Tristan was being serious, Serenity, but don't worry, he usually changes his mind once someone scolds him, or in this case, beats him up."

"Thank you." Serenity took her drink with one hand and gingerly sipped it, using her other hand too push up the bandages covering her eyes so the steam didn't discolor them. 

After a few more seconds of physical punishment on both Tristan and Joey, Joey stood up and limped back over to the bench, sat down next to Téa and groaned while holding his injured ribs. "I think he broke somethin'."

Tristan squeezed in-between Serenity and Téa, nearly throwing Joey off of the narrow space of bench he still had remaining, and rubbed his now blackened eye. "You need to start learning when I'm being serious or not, Joey."

"Yeah, whatever." Joey mumbled and accepted his drink from Téa, which he took a sip of and let out a sigh of relief. "Ahh...that hit's the spot."

"Hey, guys!" Said a familiar voice of innocence. Joey looked up from his drink and saw Yugi coming towards them, his blue coat flapping in the breeze behind him and his large golden Millennium Puzzle dangling from the solid silvery chain it was attached too.

"Hey Yug, how's it hanging?" Asked Joey, who realized he hadn't yet finished organizing his deck for Serenity's usage, so he set his drink in-between his legs and started up the process again.

"Good, I suppose. By the way," he said somewhat absently, scratching the back of his head. "I...don't suppose any of you heard about the accident yesterday? You know, with that kid Bakura dueled the other day?"

Tristan nodded solemnly. "Yeah, Didgeridoo, wasn't it?"

Joey shook his head. "Nah, it was Digger."

Tristan looked at Joey like he had grown a second head. "Digger?"

"What? That's no weirder than 'Rex' or 'Panik' is it?"

Serenity had finished almost half of her drink by now and set the cup on the ground, then readjusted her bandages. "You mean Deirdre? Yeah, I heard about that from a few kids walking by yesterday. They said he slipped on a puddle of water and fractured his skull or something."

"Deirdre! Yeah, that was what I was about too say!" Joey chimed in, smiling widely and feeling quite proud of himself.

"About to say what now, Wheeler?" Another familiar and much regretted voice said from behind Yugi. The young Duel Monsters champion turned around and looked up to see a blue-haired boy standing there with a smug, and rather common, look on his face.

Joey looked at him and shook his head irritably. "Hey Espa. What? You outta scams to pull?"

Espa Roba laughed and shook his head, walked over and smashed his way onto the bench, almost knocking down Serenity. Luckily, Téa caught her before she impacted with the ground. "C'mon now, Wheeler! I thought we left on better terms than that? It was, after all, only a day ago that we dueled, right?"

"If yer lookin' for a rematch it's gonna have to wait. I'm going to help my sister duel today."

Espa's face sagged a bit as he looked over to see that one brown-haired lady in a plaid skirt help up another young woman with white bandages covering her eyes. "Oh! Excuse me!" Espa shouted and got off of the bench, then ran over to assist Serenity. "My deepest apologies! I didn't know you were there!"

Serenity locked her blind gaze on Espa and smiled lightly. "Oh, it's no problem. Thank you."

Joey growled and shot too his feet. "Will everyone stop hittin' on my little sister?!"

Yugi smiled and was then torn away from the reality before him and into a pitch-black chamber occupied only by him and his ancient spirit counterpart, Yami. Yugi saw his protector before him and smiled. "Hey, Yami. Something wrong?"

Yami nodded solemnly. "Do you remember the conversation we had last night, Yugi?"

The boy nodded. "You mean how you sensed a great power? Like that from other Millennium Items? What about it?"

Yami stepped forward so he was less than a few inches away from his young host. "It is getting closer. But what really unnerves me is that I cannot discern this beings intentions. Its mind seems...segregated, but also like there is a perfect union between the Item and its owner. Perhaps another evil spirit?"

Yugi sighed sorrowfully then hanged his head down. "Another one? Aren't there ever any friendly spirits?"

Yami smiled gently. "Or just none at all? Maybe this isn't even a spirit, just the owner has become drunk with power and their greed has overcome their commonsense. You should know that benevolence and nefariousness are really just states of mind. I do not believe that either truly exist."

Yugi nodded and then was launched back into true reality. The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle had commandeered Yugi's body and now stood where he previously was. Espa Roba and Joey had gotten into an argument over their duel, Tristan was sneaking his arm around Serenity's shoulders, and Téa was just shaking her head miserably.

"Excuse me. Everyone?"

The bickering and unwarranted action immediately ceased and they all looked up at the attention-warranting Yami Yugi.

Yami turned away from them and looked into the distant crowds and the still fresh and new dawn sun. He took a deep breath of the clean and gentle morning air then turned back. "Beware. A dark power draws near. I fear something terrible is about to fall over Battle City."

Joey blinked awkwardly a few times then opened his mouth to speak. "What's going to happen, Yug?" The others all got up from the bench, excluding Espa Roba who was already standing, and looked at him waiting for an answer.

Instantly Yugi's expression changed from one of calm curiousness to one of horror and disbelief. "A...t-the Gathering?" He whispered.

Immediately the distant crowds erupted with angry insults, scolding, and screaming as people jumped out of the way for a motorcycle carrying one person. A dark-skinned man with long blonde hair and the beautiful golden Millennium Rod secured in a socket on his bike. His expression was grimly serious.

Not far away, another being pushed past the masses and presented himself. However, only Yami and the Millennium Puzzle detected him. Everyone else seemed oblivious to his appearance. It was Bakura, or more specifically, the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring in control of Bakura's body.

Then another presence, one that surprised all three of them, appeared. In the distance another boy emerged followed not far behind by a nervous and somewhat jittery girl. Apparently he had told her what he planned to do, and what he was summoned for.

"Deirdre, please! I don't see why you have to do this, it's insane! Your gonna get yourself killed!"

Deirdre shook his head hoping to alleviate some of her worry and formed the ring on his finger into the Millennium Balance with but a simple thought. "Don't worry, Skylar. I know what I'm doing and what has too be done."

The person on the motorcycle got off, removed his helmet and approached the assembly. What seemed strange about all this is that now the outside world seemed to have frozen solid. Yugi's friends were just staring blankly and motionless as was everyone else in the distant crowds. The girl that was following behind Deirdre had also stopped dead in her tracks with the same look of concern permanently arrested on her face.

Yugi walked forward a few steps and stopped. Bakura took up his right, Deirdre the left and this other individual, his right. The guardians of four of the Millennium Items stood glaring at one another in a perfect square, no one speaking or making a move. However, Bakura and the other dark-skinned man both had sinister grins on their faces.

"Well, I'm sure you all know what this is about?" Bakura asked, slowly bringing his hand up to rest on the outside edge of the Millennium Ring. "This is the Gathering. As prophesied. And don't tell me than none of you knew it was going to happen?" Bakura let out a quiet laugh then gestured his hand to the man in front of him. "This is Marik. Yugi, I'm sure you two have already met."

"Somewhat impersonally but yes, we have." Yugi said bitterly, then turned to Deirdre, still wearing the tattered bombers jacket and had his dark hair cascading over his face, making him look quite ominous. However, Yugi recognized this person now as the mysterious force he sensed before and now that he was closer, Yugi didn't sense any evil within his heart. His appearance was deceiving; his intentions here were entirely benign. "And who might you be?"

Deirdre held up the arm that was tightly gripped around the base of the Millennium Balance and crossed it over his chest. "You may call me Deirdre, pharaoh. At least that is the name of the boy that I currently inhabit."

Yugi nodded then turned back to Bakura. "So, what is this about? Is the prophecy to come true? Are we too simply battle and war with one another until only one remains standing? Is that how you plan to gain these three Millennium Items before you?"

Bakura shook his head, gently rubbing his thumb along his untarnished Ring. "No, unfortunately. I really would have enjoyed such a grand battle, however, that is not how myself and Marik intend on obtaining yours or Deirdre's Millennium Items." He removed his hand from the Ring, and in tune the others lowered their guards and stopped holding their Items in such defensive positions. "This 'prophecy' is going to be changed a bit. You see, another scripture more near and dear to Marik states that he must win the pharaoh's power in a Shadow Game, or, in this day and age, a duel. However, we cannot do both, so we are going to duel over ownership of all Millennium Items, meaning no one is too favor another player if they value their own lives." Bakura smiled again then stepped back, breaking the circle. "But not today."

Yami Yugi bared his teeth in anger, but didn't let it get out of his control. "And why not today? Is this day not as good as any other? Or are you afraid?"

"They have other things planned, pharaoh." Deirdre said calmly. "If this duel was too take place now other things would not get accomplished." His piercing gaze then focused on Marik, who had yet to say anything and seemed content with it. "Like...the obtaining of two Egyptian God cards?"

Marik snickered and nodded. "Amazing. You can peer into my thoughts even though my Millennium Rod shields my mind? Interesting. You haven't been in that body very long at all. It is surprising you have such a strong hold upon your new-found powers so soon."

Deirdre shrugged. "I am a quick learner."

Marik nodded and also stepped backward, further breaking the circle and joining Bakura at his side. "So it seems. All right, then. This gathering is over, and so is the prophecy of the Gathering. I will be back very soon for your Puzzle, pharaoh, and your unlimited power. Until then, we bid you a fond farewell."

Then the scene was over. Bakura and Marik were gone and Deirdre stood next to Yami Yugi back in the real world. Time had started up again and Téa, along with Joey, Tristan and Serenity, were running to Yugi's side, frantically asking him what had happened. All they saw was their friend vanishing into thin air.

Skylar began to frantically look around for her missing friend and then saw him in the distance, let out a high-pitched yelp of joy and bolted forward, tackled him from behind and absolutely refusing to let go, lest he disappear again.

"It is all right, nothing happened. I'm fine." Yugi turned to Skylar and smiled. "Deirdre is all right as well."

Skylar nodded. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou..."

Yugi looked up and met Deirdre's eyes. "You and I have much to discuss." He turned and looked at his friends who knew something was about to be said and patiently awaited it. "Would you all excuse us for a few moments? We won't be long."

Joey nodded and gently hooked his sister by her shoulders. "Yeah, no problem Yug. You just holler if you need us. C'mon guys." 

Tristan and Serenity walked off with Joey without a word but Téa stayed behind, staring into the bright sapphire eyes of her good friend Yugi. Espa also stayed still for a moment before leaving Téa to her business and following after Joey and Tristan. 

She nodded slowly then stepped back, giving Yugi his space. "Umm...sure, Yugi. No problem. We'll come back in a few minutes." She reached around behind Deirdre and snagged Skylar by the wrist. "You too. I'm sure Deirdre will be fine without you for a little while."

"Ah, no! C'mon, don't make me go!" She pleaded. "Deirdre!!"

However, her eyes met an even colder and more focused gaze than usual. Deirdre simply shook his head, offering her no measure comfort what so ever. "Please just go, Skylar. I'll be fine." Too her, it also seemed like his voice had become more alien, but she didn't question it and let Téa drag her away. Though she didn't stop looking at him until they were both several yards away.

Yugi sighed and walked toward the bench, sat down and gestured for Deirdre to do the same. He did, but kept a good distance between himself and the pharaoh. "May I ask what your intentions are? Are you in league with Marik and Bakura's spirit?"

Deirdre shook his head rapidly as if such a question was an insult to his ears and he had to banish it as fast as possible. "Of course not. I am nothing but an extension of your hand, pharaoh. I am sure you don't remember, I wouldn't expect you too, but a very long time ago I was an advisor in your royal court."

Yami Yugi looked surprised but he supposed it could have been something even more unbelievable. Like he was the incarnation of Osiris himself. "And why are you here now? And why did you choose the body of Deirdre Masako? What purpose does he serve?"

The spirit smiled grimly and looked away. "A very large purpose, pharaoh. This boy will be a major key in the upcoming battle with Marik. And he has already been chosen to participate in the largest battle of all. I will serve as your partner in a duel against Marik and the tomb robber. Whoever comes out victorious will gain control over a great power. If it is Marik, he will use that power to conquer the world."

Yami Yugi nodded and looked down at the Puzzle dangling from his neck. "So it is happening. After all these years the battle for the fate of the world will happen again."

If he had any concern he certainly didn't show it. The spirit inhabiting Deirdre's body looked at the Millennium Balance still in his hands and gazed into the golden emblem emblazoned on its surface. "Well, you're partially right. However, not all factors have been accounted for. Not all of the original players are back yet and only once they are can the battle commence again."

"Who is missing?"

Deirdre glanced up at the cold morning sky for a moment before lowering his head again and continuing. "The sorcerer. The incarnation of the sorcerer who started this whole war in the first place. His spirit has been reincarnated in Seto Kaiba. Only when he comes forward and accepts his fate can the war continue."

"That will not be easy. Kaiba doesn't know about his past and being as free of a spirit as he is, I don't think he'll listen to anyone attempt to explain it too him. And even if he did, he certainly wouldn't accept his fate. He would dismiss it as nothing worth his time and go about running his corporation and his selfish ways."

Deirdre shook his head and shrugged as if he refused to accept that. "There is no other way. All of the original players must return. Marik and the tomb robber are only new additions but they are going to have to accept roles long forgotten as well." He stood up from his seat and stared at a crowd not far away. Apparently another duel was beginning and he seemed interested in it. "Well, I'll let you go back to your friends, pharaoh." He looked down at Yami and smiled. "Try not to let this wear upon your mind, pharaoh. You'll win. Just like you did before."

Yami Yugi watched Deirdre walk away toward that duel, still holding the large Millennium Balance for a moment before changing it back too its compact ring form. 

He slumped down further into his seat, trying to think of a way he could make this "destiny" of his work out for the best. But if the spirit was correct, he couldn't possibly lose. It was already decided. Good had to triumph no matter what...right?


	10. Ch 9: Spiritual Enlightenment

**Chapter Nine**

_Spiritual Enlightenment _

**_Author's Note: _**Okay, I am officially changing this fanfiction's rating to PG-13. Simply because this chapter has two swear words in it that I think could be offensive to a younger audience and I just want everyone to know what they are going to see before their mothers do and end up slapping me with a subpoena. This chapter is also the first in a major three-parter that completes the hype of the very first duel in the entire story: Deirdre vs. Griff. 

Enjoy, ya know?

*~*~*~*

Yami Yugi had relinquished control over the body of Yugi Motou back over to his young host, and, consequently, the original owner. Yugi, who had also heard the entire speech between the spirit inhabiting Deirdre Masako and Yami, wandered depressed back over to his friends who had taken refuge from the bitter morning air under the warm canopy over the popular cafe that Skylar and Deirdre visited the day before.

Téa was happily waving him over, and once she was sure he had seen them she turned around and gestured for a waitress to come and take the order of their high school friend. Tristan was inside of the café talking with some girl he had met only seconds earlier and Espa Roba, who had yet to leave the group for the day's dueling festivities, was engaged in an enjoyable conversation with Joey's younger sister, Serenity.

Yugi's mind definitely seemed distracted because he nearly sat down in Joey's lap. Luckily, Joey being the incredibly masochistic individual that he was, took him by the shoulders and directed him into another empty seat next to him. "Hey Yug, maybe it's just me but you seem a little off kilter. Somethin' the matter?"

That clutch by Joey had snapped the Duelist Kingdom champion back into reality and he looked up at him with a light smile of complete innocence on his face. "No, but thanks for asking, Joey. It's just that the spirit and Deirdre had a...an interesting conversation."

"Oh!" Skylar announced, shooting up from her seat. "I nearly forgot! Where is he, Yugi?"

He pointed toward the east but didn't actually look to see where his finger was aiming. "He walked off right after we were finished but I'm pretty sure he was going to watch a duel."

Skylar was all ready to go off on the hunt but Téa's hand locked around her wrist preventing her from either leaving or forcing her to drag the other young woman along for the ride. "Hey, Skylar, c'mon. I'm sure Deirdre can manage without you for a while. Sit down and talk some more. At least finish your cocoa."

For the first time sense Deirdre's accident, Skylar had a flash of reason and sat down with an agreeing nod and a smile that made Téa think she wasn't as selfish and brusque as originally believed. "All right, I'll do that."

Yugi looked over his shoulder and toward the general direction of where he believe Deirdre walked off too, resting his chin in his hand and sighing under his breath so the others didn't hear it. Most especially Téa, who would have instantly been racked with worry. 

_'I wonder what is in store for us, Yami? What role will Bakura, Deirdre, my friends...even Marik, play? What purpose did they all serve in the days of ancient Egypt? What is too become of them once the battle begins?'_

Just like a returning thought, the voice of the spirit rang in Yugi's mind.

_'I do not know, Yugi. I wish I could be more specific but be sure that nothing will befall them. They will all come through this unharmed. I'll make sure of it. I promise it. But in the meantime we must prepare. Marik and the spirit of the Millennium Ring will soon begin whatever they have planned and we must be ready. Remember, the fate of the world and all who live on it is at stake.'_

Yugi nodded then turned back to his friends and lifted up his recently delivered drink to his lips. "How could I forget?" He whispered, and took a sip of the hot liquid.

*~*~*~*~*

Deirdre was beginning to understand that he might have been the victim of a hostile takeover, because ever sense early that morning he had begun to feel like he was no longer in control of his body, and that fact was only further strengthened recently, when he lost all motion and now saw into a completely different reality. 

He was simply floating, or perhaps he was standing upon solid ground, it was difficult to discern. He could, however, see what was happening "on the outside" through his eyes, but it was more like looking through a window than actually seeing the events himself. He was in a pitch-black chamber that had no entrance or exit. Whatever was currently operating his body didn't seem to have malicious intentions but it certainly didn't have much common courtesy, either. Deirdre had tried to contact the being that he believed originated from the Millennium Balance but the spirit had yet to respond.

Now he could see that his body was approaching a circle of people apparently watching a duel, and the spirit was obviously attempting to see over the sea of heads before him. But he was still in the body of Deirdre and therefore had to conform to certain rules and limitations, such as the fact that Deirdre wasn't very tall and it seemed too him that the spirit wasn't used to being so short.

Deirdre had also begun to understand that this spirit must have, at one time, been in a much more limber and robust body, one with much longer and more muscular legs because his strides were bumbling and cumbersome. He heard the spirit grumble angrily the entire way to Battle City while he was still accompanied by Skylar, occasionally having to catch himself or trip over his own two feet. He also experimented with his hands, which probably were much larger and attached to longer arms at one point, because his perception of depth and distance was askewed, and the simple task of touching one hand to the other seemed quite complex.

But the spirit was quickly learning too cope with his new form and his learning apparently involved completely phasing out the factor of the other person inhabiting the same body. Deirdre was scared at first, in fact he was terrified and confused at what was taking place, but those feelings quickly turned into blind anger and hatred for this being. He had no right to trespass into Deirdre's body like he was and something had to be done about it.

_'Why are you so enraged, my friend?' _Deirdre heard echo through the black room. _'I want you too know that I do not mean you any harm.'_

"Then give me back my body! There's a law against what you're doing to me! And you just have no right to be possessing me like this!"

_'I am sorry, but I do realize that what I am doing is wrong. However, it is also necessary and it may be necessary again. Know that I am not here to cause you discomfort or harm, but to help you to grow and prosper. Think of me and my power as a guardian of sorts. A guardian who knows what you will soon experience and what you will have to face. You have a world of work ahead of you, Deirdre Masako. An incredible task that will decide the fate of the world will soon be laid upon you.'_

Deirdre grabbed large clumps of his hair and shook his head rapidly, attempting to rid himself of the great sense of frustration overcoming his senses. "Look, I can't speak to you like this! Get in here and face me!"

A pause occurred, a short moment of absolute silence that was flat-out unbearable for Deirdre. But it didn't take long for the spirit to respond. _'As you wish.'_

Deirdre watched the spirit turn away from the crowd and approach a nearby wooden bench, then sit down and lean back, apparently getting comfortable for Deirdre even though he had none of his five senses working at the moment. Then in a wisp of white and gray smoke, the spirit appeared in his human image. He was an incredibly tall and imposing man, though an aura of incredible calmness and strength permeated from him like a powerful stench. He was dressed in a simple waste-down white cloth that reached to his ankles that perfectly contrasted his golden tan and piercing blue gaze. He was bare-chested though a very long and winding tattoo of a serpent stretched from his waste across his body and over his shoulder. It then looped back; the head of the snake criss-crossing over its own scaly length.

He looked down at Deirdre as if he was staring off a bridge, but then smiled and bent down, meeting Deirdre's eyes with his own. "Again, I apologize for the intrusion my young friend, but it was essential at the time. I hadn't the opportunity to explain my intentions then but I do now."

Deirdre sighed and nodded. "Then tell me who you are and why you chose to occupy me."

The spirit shrugged. "Fate, perhaps?"

"Oh, don't give me any that mystical destiny bullcrap! I don't believe in it and even now I think this is just some weird dream! I am going to wake up from this soon, I will be lying in bed and no ring will be on my finger and no ancient Egyptian spirit will have possessed me."

"What dream do you know of that could be this vivid, Deirdre Masako?"

"I don't know," he said, the rage that had previously built up in his throat gave away to a defeated whisper. "I...don't know much of anything anymore. All these events are happening way to fast and...I-I just came here to duel, ya know? I didn't want and I still don't want any of this. This burden should be put upon some one else's shoulders, not mine. I'm not strong enough for it."

The reaction from the spirit wasn't what Deirdre had expected at all. The great man threw back his head and let out a tremendous laugh, billowing and absolute in its benevolence. "Now that is a lie if I've ever heard one, Deirdre Masako! You are the most able of all! You are, after all, a descendant of greatness whether you know it or not. Your family, for centuries, has been a strong and virtuous clan! I assure you that you didn't miss the hump!"

"What are you blabbering about now?" Deirdre said, becoming irritated all over again.

"I'm simply saying that you _are_ strong enough for this burden, Deirdre Masako." The spirit uttered, growing calm once again. "Your honest and you have a good-heart. Believe it or not, you're even personable. Maybe you haven't noticed but that young lady we were walking with earlier has become quite smitten by you."

"Skylar?" Deirdre responded with a light chuckle. "She's nice and all but I met her only two days ago. She's confused and doesn't know it. She honestly thinks I'm the best thing that has ever happened to her."

"Or maybe she is just as lonely and craving of friendship as yourself. Two people of similar minds often are drawn to one another, you know?"

Deirdre scoffed. "I am not 'craving of friendship' at all. I prefer my solitude over my social record."

The spirit smiled wide again and nodded slowly. "As you say. Now, if you wish you can have control over your body again. In fact, you should get used to some of the powers you now have and this will be a good lesson. I assure you that this isn't a dream and that simple trick of levitating objects you witnessed this morning was only the first bite of the proverbial apple, my friend. I...no, _we_ can do much more now that we have the ancient magic of the Millennium Balance at our disposal."

Deirdre had crossed his arms over his chest at the beginning of the spirit's talking and turned away, but that last part had him rather intrigued. "Like what?" He said, turning his head back towards the man.

The spirit smiled then groaned painfully as he stretched back up to full height, his vertebrae crackling in protest. Strange that a disembodied spirit had bones and muscles but Deirdre didn't think that was the oddest of the things he had experienced this day. "Well," the spirit began, "many things. Just ask me."

Deirdre nodded, understanding only slightly, but immediately one thing shot to the front of his mind and though it was a long shot; after all, he didn't think they had this kind of thing back in the days of ancient Egypt, but it was worth a try. "Can you duel?"

The spirit looked slightly confused at the question but then his wide smile returned and he nodded vehemently. "I like to think I've become quite formidable at the Shadow Games. Duel Monsters is not much different."

"Okay then. One last thing."

The spirit nodded. "Ask."

"What is your name?"

Deirdre saw one last grin spread across the jovial spirit's face before he was launched back in control of his body. It felt like he had been shot from a catapult into a brick wall but he quickly regained his bearings and heard a voice inside of his head like it was nothing but a normal thought. _'Throughout the ages I have had many names, but I have only ever answered too one. You may call me Ahmose.'_

"Strange name," Deirdre said quietly to himself. "All right then. Can you start calling me just by my first name, then? Saying my last name makes it sound like I'm in trouble with my parents."

_'As you wish.' _The spirit repeated.

Deirdre nodded and stood up off the bench and began to walk forward, away from the duel, which originally stirred Ahmose's curiosity, and too another something Deirdre saw in the far distance. He couldn't make it out so clearly from where he was but he thought someone in a small group looked familiar. As he neared, this person's face became clearer and instantly a swell of fighting spirit rose up in Deirdre. 

It was Griff Terrace. He hadn't left Battle City after all.

The young duelist grinned, touched his right pocket and felt the bulge of his deck, then took off towards Pegasus' most successful protégée.

A small group began to form around Griff as others also saw him and just knew that where he was, a great duel was sure to follow. Deirdre hoped it would truly be grand. And though his own dueling talents were good, with the spirit also helping him he was sure to leave a deep cut in Griff's self-confidence.

"Griff Terrace!" Deirdre shouted, stopping just a few feet away from the great duelist. 

Griff acknowledged him by slightly turning his head towards him, upturning his nose and snickering to himself. 

"You owe me a duel, Griff!"

"I know," Griff said, taking a few steps forward and meeting Deirdre's stare. "I backed out for your own good, though. Uhh...oh, what was your name?" Griff watched for the sign of anger in his opponent's face but saw none and shrugged it off. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. I gave you the chance to save yourself the embarrassment but if you really want to lose that badly then I can do nothing but oblige."

"Your too kind." Deirdre said, taking out his deck and then slipping it into the card reader on the Duel Disk, which he completely forgot was still on his arm. In fact he didn't even feel the weight of the device anymore. "I'm gonna give you a battle that Pegasus never trained you for. Now, how about putting up two locator cards?"

Griff nodded with a grin and the two stepped back, giving the playing field ample room. Griff pressed his hand on top of his Duel Disk while it was still aimed down at the ground. The holo-imagers blasted from it, ricocheting off the cold concrete and soaring over to their designated places.

Deirdre pointed his Duel Disk straight into the air, firing the imagers off in a cloud of smoke that briefly blanketed the field. When it was blown away by the chilly morning breeze, Deirdre had already drawn his starting hand and was awaiting Griff to do the same.

"All right, show-off," Griff said with a hint of indigence in his voice, "remember that you asked for this when you're looking back on this defeat later on tonight."

"Keep it up, Griff, I'm not quite tired of you talking out your ass yet." Deirdre drew a card, placed it into his hand and then pulled a different card and set it on the field. "I play the Lady Assailant of Flames in attack mode!" His monster appeared on the field holding a long polished knife and gushing wreathes of fire from her arms. Its attack and defense scores were a strong 1500/1000. "I also lay this one card face-down and end my turn."

Griff growled ferally and drew a card from his deck, set it into his hand and played a card. "I summon Shining Abyss in attack mode!" The holographic image of the creature appeared and towered at least six or seven feet over Deirdre's monster. It had a tremendously long wingspan and a bulbous bottom without legs or any sort of limb dedicated for movement. It simply floated in place. 

Griff's confident expression spoke volumes about his strategy. He gloated over the fact that his monster was stronger than Deirdre's in both attack and defense. 1600/1800.

"Okay, kid," Griff taunted with an ominous grin. "Get ready to fork over your rarest card." 

Deirdre shook his head then glanced at his hand again while drawing a card from his deck. "I say your the one who is going to be giving me your Toon World magic card after this is all said and done, Griff."

The two duelists stared at one another, neither one wavering in their resolve and both feeling infinitely confident. One of the two would be winning today, and the other would be leaving the tournament in shame. Either way, the spectators, which were now gathering by the dozens, would certainly not be disappointed.


	11. Ch 10: Load

**Chapter Ten**

_Load_

Griff's cocky grins were beginning to take their toll upon Deirdre. It wasn't like he was intimidated or anything it was just really irritating. But those snide looks would only make the expression on his opponent's face that much sweater once he was defeated.

From the moment he had first seen one of Griff's aired duels, broadcasted by an affiliate television station of Industrial Illusions, a hypothesis poked and prodded at Deirdre's mind. And though he had always had a healthy amount of respect for the man, he had never thought him much more than a traveling showboat for Pegasus. The cause being is that many of his duels are simply him mocking his foe and pulling out rare and exotic cards, the fringe benefit of being a student of the man who invented the game. But after winning as many duels as Griff had, his ego doubtlessly had been receiving some major stroking, and all progressive duels were no longer displays of talent, but rather just excessive boasting. 

It isn't his dueling skills that win matches anymore, but the fact that his reputation frightens his opponents into mediocre performances. Deirdre, however, wasn't impressed. He knew what kind of a man Griff really was. Not the benevolent and humble man that he made himself out too be, but rather a cruel and over-confident entertainer. Today would be the day that he was knocked off his high horse.

Griff looked up at his impressive Shining Abyss monster and then back down at Deirdre's field, saw the face down card and with a passive wave, relinquished his turn. "I'm not going to attack this time, kid. Use your free move and see if you can't get the upper hand. Ya know? I'm practically giving you a huge advantage if you're smart about it! So, c'mon. Do your worst."

"I intend too," Deirdre mumbled under his breath and drew a card from his deck. He placed it into the center of his hand then took out another card and placed it onto the field. "I play the Darkfire Soldier #2 in defense mode." Alongside of his Lady Assailant of Flames appeared his second Pyro monster. With that accomplished, he ended his turn.

Griff, still grinning, drew a card and laid it face down. "I also play this. The Cure Mermaid, in attack mode!" Next to his staggeringly large Light monster appeared a diminutive creature that was part scaly fish and part barely clothed female. "Now, for every turn that she is face-up on my side of the field I gain eight hundred life points. And just to insure that she stays around for awhile, I lay this card face-down." He nodded towards his opponent. "I end my turn, Deirdre."

"Thank you. I now activate my face down card Minor Summon, which allows me to bring any monster with an attack score below one thousand from my hand to the field. So I chose the Flame Dancer!" And almost before his new monster even had enough time to fully materialize, he threw down another magic card. "I also play Burning Essence! A magic card that allows me to sacrifice any Pyro monster on my side of the field and inflict direct damage to your life point equal to the sacrificed monsters attack score! So I send my Flame Dancer to the Graveyard and deal five hundred and fifty points of damage directly!"

Griff watched uninterested, but still with a slight frown on his once carefree and jovial face, as his life points dropped from their starting value of 4000 to 3450.

"But I am not done yet, Griff! Now that that monster has been sent to the Graveyard I can play my Spirit of Flames monster card by removing one monster from my Graveyard from the game." Now Deirdre's army was at a commanding three monsters. The Spirit of Flames, a large demon-like creature wreathed in fire from the waste down, appeared next to the Darkfire Soldier with its arms crossed over its chest and breathing smoke out of its nostrils.

Deirdre couldn't help but snicker slightly as he heard the disbelieving gasps from the surrounding crowd. Griff Terrace losing? And by such a huge margin so early in the duel? Impossible. "But before I let you get on with your turn, I'm going to lay one more card face down and put you further into your hole. I switch my Darkfire Soldier into attack mode! Now, destroy his Cure Mermaid my warrior!"

The monster unsheathed his twin blazing katana and rushed towards Griff's life point restoring monster. It would be dead before it could even use its effect and Griff would take even more life point damage. This match might prove easier than Deirdre originally thought.

"I activate Kamikaze Attack!"

A split-second before the Darkfire Soldier #2 bisected the Cure Mermaid, an aura of warping crimson energy gave the attacking monster pause, and then turned him against his creator. The Darkfire Soldier heaved and turned around, raising his swords against Deirdre.

Griff cackled like a witch and thrust out his finger. "Darkfire Soldier! Attack and destroy all of Deirdre's monsters!"

Deirdre's heart skipped a beat as he watched his own monster charge towards his other two monsters who both looked on in horror, not willing to accept their holographic deaths. Luckily, Deirdre didn't forget about the face down card he laid just for some awkward event like this. "I activate the magic card Negate Attack!"

Immediately the rushing samurai was stopped dead by a wall that rose up to stop his assault. The Darkfire Soldier exploded on impact, causing no damage to Deirdre's other monsters but still hitting hard. He had just wasted one of his own monsters and a very useful trap card on a failed gambit, and he wasn't pleased about it.

"Well, fine. Now were tied, Deirdre. So anyway, I hope that didn't throw off your game or anything because I'm just getting warmed up." Griff drew a card but already had one ready and set it down on the field. "I play The Forgiving Maiden in defense mode!" His newest monster appeared and set herself down, resting on her knees as a sign of the position she was set into. "Her defense of two thousand is more than any of your monsters currently has attack point wise. She is an unmovable wall, Deirdre my friend! Now, I lay one card down and give the board too you."

"Yeah, well that won't last long." Deirdre said, not losing any of his much-needed confidence after that hit by his Darkfire Soldier and drew a card. What he saw was quite good, but for the mean time he set it into his hand and played another monster card. "I lay down another Darkfire Soldier #2 and then equip my Spirit of Flames with the magic card United We Stand! And because I control three face-up monsters I increase my Spirit of Flames attack and defense scores by twenty four hundred points, bringing him to 4100/3400! And his effect lets me increase its attack score every battle phase by three hundred more, bringing him too 4400!" With a sadistic grin of his own, Deirdre balled his fists. "Now, I'm gonna make you cry, Griff! Spirit of Flames attack! Burning Soul Blast!"

Griff cursed under his breath but activated his face down card by pressing the button above that card on his Duel Disk. "Doppelganger! Become the magic card Negate Attack!"

His card appeared on the board in the form of a rubbery, serpentine black cat who laughed maniacally then dove in front of the oncoming blast, becoming the attack stopping card that Deirdre played not long ago. The Spirit of Flames' conflagration wrapped harmlessly around the void and vanished, leaving the board smoking but Griff undamaged.

Upon seeing the expression on Deirdre's face, Griff grinned and spread out his hands defensively. "Your very good, Deirdre! I didn't give you the credit that you deserved and I apologize! That attack would have defeated me if I wasn't completely prepared for it."

Deirdre scowled. "Just get on with your turn."

He nodded and placed his hand on top of his deck. "As you wish." He pulled the top card and looked at it, then smiled at what he saw. "Oh, my dear, dear friend. I just got the card that will spell your ultimate defeat. It works like this, I play the monster card Marie the Fallen One in attack mode!" Another monster appeared on Griff's side of the field, taking up one more slot on his Duel Disk's summoning plate. "And I now activate Polymerization, fusing The Forgiving Maiden and Marie the Fallen One into an all-powerful holy knight! My friends!" He said, speaking to the entire crowd. "I give you St. Joan!"

Despite her gentle features, her massive silver sword and full-body armor made Deirdre think that this being was something that would certainly put up a fight. But at 2800/2000, she wasn't nearly as strong as his enhanced Spirit of Flames. 

"Okay, I lay down three magic cards and enter my battle phase, and Deirdre, I'm coming after your Spirit of Flames!"

Deirdre gave him a coarse look and shook his head. "You don't have enough power. Your St. Joan won't even scratch his primer."

"That is what you think!" He said though a questionable chuckle. "I activate my three face down cards! Mask of Weakness, Magic Amplify, and the Silver Bow and Arrow!" His newest monster, St. Joan, hadn't even blinked yet, and now an ornate wooden mask with five razor-sharp horns protruding from its surface appeared in front of her and shot forward, clamping onto the Spirit of Flames' face and causing it to drop to its knees as its immeasurable power was being rapidly siphoned.

Deirdre lost his cool composure and openly expressed his skepticism at the events he was watching, however, the spirit of the Millennium Balance, which he had forgotten entirely about, spoke too him in an attempt to alleviate his doubts. _'Worry not. Your monster still has enough power to finish off Griff's. Don't lose face and keep up your momentum. We almost have this duel won!'_

"Yes," Deirdre said aloud. "This duel is almost won."

"Yeah, in my favor!" Griff shouted, earning a rousing cheer from his loyal fans spread throughout the massive crowd. "Magic Amplify will repeat the effect of Mask of Weakness, so instead of just losing seven hundred attack points your Spirit of Flames will lose fourteen hundred attack points! Its advantage just got cut."

Deirdre gritted his teeth and dropped his gaze to the ground. "Well, what now, Ahmose?"

_'Deirdre, I have been in situations like this before as well. You must not stray away from the flow of the game. Just because you suffered a hit now doesn't mean the duel is finished. You can still win but you must believe in yourself and fight at your hardest. Understand?'_

Deirdre looked at the summoning plate on his Duel Disk and saw as the light over his Spirit of Flames flickered out, signaling that the card had been destroyed. He looked up to see that St. Joan's elegant silver sword had been replaced with a shimmering crystalline long bow. Where his monster previously was now nothing but a quickly vanishing red mist remained. Griff's monster lowered her bow and stepped back into line, drawing another arrow from her quiver and loading it into her weapon.

Griff laughed insanely, almost falling over as tears literally stung his eyes. He got a sick pleasure out of crushing people's hopes and dreams, it seemed. Though he had only lost one hundred life points in the attack, his strongest monster had been demolished. Griff was very content with himself, though now his dueling hand was non-existent. But it was likely that the next card he drew would once again be a game breaker. 

But despite how disheartening this all was, Deirdre was determined not to give up. It wasn't even so much about the Toon World magic card any more as it was proving to himself and the world that he was the best. How else could he do that other than beating the best?

"Okay, Deirdre! My turn is over. Get on with your pathetic attempt so I can end this game and go about my day."

"Yeah, pathetic. You'll be eating those words pretty soon, Griff." 

His grin only widened.

Deirdre scowled and drew another card from his deck. "I switch all of my monsters into defense mode." His two remaining monsters, the Darkfire Soldier #2 and the Lady Assailant of Flames, both lowered themselves and set up shielding positions. "I also lay down Dokuroyaiba in defense mode."

Griff almost burst into hysterics again as the feeble snake-wrapped boomerang appeared spinning slowly in the air. "Your defenses won't take long for me too punch though, Deirdre. I suggest forfeiting and saving yourself some measure of embarrassment."

Deirdre shook his head. "You know what I am going to say, Griff."

He nodded. "Yes, 'just get on with it', so I will again comply. Shining Abyss, attack Dokuroyaiba! Ejection Punch!" His giant hovering monster balled its massive hands into fists, then launched them forward as if they were attached to elastic cords, slamming through Deirdre's weakest monster like it wasn't even there. Thankfully, it was in defense mode and its owner took no life point damage.

"St. Joan! Attack the Darkfire Soldier!"

With a waft of her hand to brush away a lock of her hair, his beautiful knight stepped forward and pulled back her bowstring, aimed for the heart of Deirdre's monster and fired, sending the arrow into his chest and destroying it just as fast as it had been created. 

After the digital dust had cleared, Deirdre felt the urge of defeat strike him all over again, though the duel wasn't yet over. Though it would be pretty soon if he didn't do something too stop two of Griff's strongest monsters, but nothing in his hand could and his lone remaining hope, the Lady Assailant of Flames, was quaking with fear after watching her comrade's fall. 

_'You can win, Deirdre!'_

"No, I can't. This duel is as good as finished."

_'Stop doubting yourself and you can win! The answer must be sought from within yourself. Do not rely on others and do not listen to the words of your opponent and the people watching this duel. Think only about victory and even the spoils of that victory if need be! You must trust my words because together we can defeat him! Alone we have no chance!'_

Deirdre sighed, trying to do as the spirit asked him to do because he had a great amount of trust for the incorporeal being. He crooked his arm so that the Duel Disk was directly in front of him. He took a deep breath and released it, placing a finger on the top card of his deck. The Millennium Balance, currently a golden ring, shined with an enigmatic light. "I'm putting allot of faith into you, Ahmose." Deirdre whispered. "Don't let me down."

_'I would never.'_ Was the candid reply.

"Then, what is left to say? This worked once before. Heart of the Cards, guide me!"

With a quick swipe of his hand, Deirdre drew his card.


	12. Ch 11: Lock, Stock, and two Smoking Drag...

**Chapter Eleven **

Lock, Stock, and two Smoking Dragons 

Téa sat agitated in the chair that those mindless Rare Hunter's had bound her too. Though despite her lack of mobility, she was plenty energetic and quite peeved about her situation. She screamed at the top of her lungs occasionally just to startle the two guys she knew were still guarding outside the door and tilted the chair just enough so that the noise it made while rocking back and forth would irritate them into coming in and yelling at her. It had happened once and it was a sense of satisfaction that she had never felt before.

Another chief concern poking at her mind was whether or not Mokuba Kaiba made it out safely. Well, it seemed like he got away but could those Rare Hunter's have caught him again? If they did, she didn't want to think about what they would do to him for making the escape attempt. She did, however, know what Seto Kaiba would do to them if he found out his little brother was harmed in any way. The repercussions would be something they would suffer with for the rest of their living days. Now that was a becalming thought...

Then she heard the familiar creaking of the rusty hinges on the door and when she saw the person enter this time, it wasn't at all whom she expected.

"Joey, it's you! I'm so glad your okay! You've gotta help me out of this chair so we can escape from this rat hole!"

He didn't move or speak.

"Hello? Earth to Joey."

Again, no response. Only the continued look straight down at the floor.

"C'mon, joke's over."

"I am not Joey you fool." Her friend, or someone who looked just like him, said with a hint of annoyance on his lips. Téa gasped at the lifeless reflection in Joey's eyes and his haunting voice, which seemed to be a combination of two completely different voices. One was Joey's but the other sounded foreign and not like anyone she knew.

"That's not funny!"

Then from behind her possessed friend stepped in that strange man who had a dozen small hieroglyphic symbols tattooed onto his face. The hood of his Rare Hunter cowl was thrown up over his head so that she could only see his glossed-over gray eyes and that characteristically stiff upper lip.

"Odion," Joey said in a half-whisper. "Take her out of here and bring her to the preparation chamber. She will soon become like her friend." He said smiling, then turning around and preparing to walk out of the small, closet-like room. "And you will soon think nothing but what I command, little girl."

Téa, despite how much she wanted to scream for the first time of actual importance today, couldn't form the sound before Odion stepped forward and clamped his hand over her mouth.

*~*~*~*~*

Deirdre looked at the card he had just drawn and at first didn't think it could be anything that would help him. However, upon further mental scouring, he knew that Griff had something in his deck, probably not far away, that could make this play gamebreaking. But, at the moment it had no purpose, so Deirdre quickly looked over his side of the playing domain and then his hand.

The only monster that remained guarding his life points was the Lady Assailant of Flames but her attack score was far too low to launch an attack against either of the opposing monsters. 

And for the first time in his life, Deirdre looked at his competition not as mere holographic images, but as real challengers against a personal title. Shining Abyss, though resembling little more than a large iron paperweight, occasionally moved its arms and twisted its neck to look around at the crowd. St. Joan was much more alive, as she heaved with the breath in her lungs and even smiled and winked at Deirdre when he looked at her face.

His monster showed real fear though strong resolve. She was willing to die for her master, or whoever Deirdre was to her. The Lady Assailant of Flames looked over her shoulder into Deirdre's eyes and he met her gaze. Then, with a renewed vigor, the green-haired assassin turned back to the overwhelming odds and tightened her stance. 

"Okay." Deirdre said quietly and nodded to himself, gathering his confidence and taking a card out of his hand. "Okay, Griff. I lay one card face-down and then play the Mirror Image magic card, splitting my Lady Assailant of Flames into two identical monsters."

Still in defense mode, his monster wavered and sparked then split-off into an exact duplicate of the original, both with the same power and defense and both beaming with confidence.

"I end my turn, Griff."

"Because what else can you do, Deirdre?!" Griff laughed and drew a card, then held it up so his opponent could see. "I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards in exchange for this one." Griff did just that, crossing his Duel Disk over his chest and drawing two cards from his deck. He looked at his two new cards passively, then looking up at his opponent with an overjoyed expression that said plenty without words. "Tell me something, Deirdre. Did you watch cartoons when you were a child?"

_'Oh no.' _He thought. _'I remember Pegasus talking like this during the Duelist Kingdom championship on KCSK. He's going to play it.'_

"I know what you're going to play now, Griff! So just lay it down."

He nodded and revealed the top part of his card from his hand. "You know, I gained more than just knowledge of dueling from Master Pegasus, Deirdre! I also developed a taste for fine wines, his sense of humor, a love of some of his favored hobbies. Would you like to see some of my artwork after this?"

"I said get on with it." He seethed.

"Very well, then. I play Toon World!"

The ground in the center of the field began to twist and break apart into chunks that vanished once they were a few feet off the ground. In the midst of this appeared a swirling black vortex from which a purple hardback book appeared accompanied by some rather comical music. The book then flew open revealing its contents. A silhouetted city topped off with visible sound effects burst forth, followed by the startled reactions of the crowd and their whispered comments.

"Behold! Your destruction incarnate, my friend!" Griff said while gesturing at his two monsters who both seemed to understand what was about to occur and seemed gratified for it. "And now watch the true magic of it all! My book will absorb my two monsters on the field and safely secure them within the books impenetrable hardback bindings!"

A cloud of white smoke belched from the book and swallowed up the Shining Abyss and St. Joan, taking them into the book and slamming itself shut afterwards.

"And now they make a come-back appearance in their super-powered toon forms!"

His two monsters then jumped back out and landed on the field now resembling cartoon characters, but nothing any intelligent parent would allow their children to watch on television. Shining Abyss retained its hourglass shape though it was noticeably smaller and in place of its spherical glass eyes were now bright white balls with spinning coils in the middle. A long pink tongue dangled from where its mouth probably would have been and its head was warped into a black and red jesters cap complete with jingling bells.

St. Joan underwent the less drastic of the two transformations but she looked no less ridiculous. Her hair had gone from its once vibrant red too a more effervescent look that was colored bright purple. Her armor had gone from polished silver to a pale green with the face of a fat-nosed dragon on the breastplate. She still held her lustrous bow but now the arrows didn't stay confined to a quiver, but instead all had small faces on the tips and floated around her, thrusting towards Deirdre's monsters in an awfully threatening manner. But then again, what else would animate arrow parodies be doing?

"I'll finish this now, Deirdre! I'm going to wipe you out of this game and into duelist oblivion!" Griff's trademark smile didn't fade, in fact it only further twisted making him look even more foreboding. "I now sacrifice my two monsters and summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Griff's two monsters burst into iridescent white flames and shot into a rippling rift in the air, which was then followed up by a tremendous explosion and the formation of the outline of a massive beast with a long serpentine neck and an eclipsing wingspan. But before it could take that shape, the Toon World book turned on its axle and flashed the unfinished being like it had taken a photo. Instead of taking on its natural form the creature dramatically shortened. Once the foggy haze lifted, a small little dragon sat on the ground gnawing on its tail. Its attention averted when it saw the twin Lady Assailant's of Flames and it quickly floated into the air and let out a little peep of a growl. 

The audience was laughing at the sheer implausibility of such a monster, but it seemed to love every minute of it, as was its master, Griff Terrace, who had his hands on his hips and threw back his head, letting out a grave chuckle. "Look into the eyes of the ultimate destroyer, Deirdre! The Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon is unstoppable! The next turn will be your last!"

"Really now?" Deirdre chided, then drew his next card and was pleased with the results. _'I have an idea, Ahmose. You know what I'm thinking, right?'_

_'Yes,' _the disembodied voice echoed inside of Deirdre's head. _'And it is a good one. But that alone will not win you this and you know of what I speak. Do you think you have the rest of the duel mapped out?'_

"Yeah, I do think." 

_'Then play your card. You'll soon be regarded as a truly legendary duelist. This will be a victory that you can be proud of yourself for overcoming and one that I can be proud of for you because it will be good practice for the one that will soon decide so many lives.'_

"All right," he said aloud, temporarily sobering Griff's cocky smile. "Griff, your about to lose! I play one card face-down and end my turn!"

"Pathetic! Unless that single card is all five pieces of Exodia or the letters needed to spell out the Destiny Board I'm afraid that you're about to lose! Blue-Eyes! Attack those weak women with White Lightning!"

Griff's absurd little dragon cackled and sucked in a great breath, bloating its light blue stomach and then discharging an incredibly powerful bolt of rosy plasma, which raced across the field and impacted with one of Deirdre's two Lady Assailant of Flames, obliterating it with nothing more than a loud boom and a cloud of smoke. But because of its defensive position, causing no life point damage.

"And that is what will soon become of your dreams of victory." Griff said with a shrouded grin.

"Not likely." Deirdre said pressing the button that activated his magic card. "I play the trap card DNA Surgery, which allows me to change any one type that I choose into any other type, and I chose to turn all Pyro-type monsters into Fiend-type monsters!"

Griff raised his eyebrow. "What is the point of that?"

"This!" The challenger announced by throwing down a monster card. "I remove three Fiend-type monsters from my Graveyard and summon Dark Necrofear in defense mode!" Appearing just like it did in the battle with Bones, a hairless and sickeningly gaunt creature appeared, narrowing its gaze and blanketing the holographic playing field with an aura of darkness. 

The Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, however, simply laughed, as did its master. "That is your big move? That is what you think is going to win the game for you? It has a powerful defense I grant you that but it cannot possibly survive just one attack from my dragon! Attack with White Lightning my monster!"

Again, the cartoon monstrosity released a scorching explosion of energy, removing Dark Necrofear from the game even before it could launch a single attack.

"Kinda makes all that work seem pointless. Doesn't it, my friend?"

Deirdre smiled and shook his head. "Oh, if you had only read the instruction manual a little bit closer, Griff."

_'Yes, my young friend! Defeat him! Fulfill your long-awaited goal!'_

"This is the end for you and your winning streak."

_'He doesn't know what is coming! Make him pay for all of his chastising!'_

The huge audience, which was once alive with applause and enthusiastic whistling, was now eerily silent. When before no one cheered Deirdre Masako in favor of the much more famous and popular Griff Terrace, now neither of them were currently being celebrated. And just before finishing the game, a flicker of absolute evil blazed in Deirdre's eyes. "I activate Dark Necrofear's effect, which allows me to control any one monster on your side of the field if it is sent to the Graveyard! And I choose your Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon!"

Griff's jaw dropped to the ground just like one of his cartoon monsters. "Impossible! You can't possibly have planned such a thing! I demand you stop this immediately!"

"You're going to lose like I planned, Griff. I doubt even your mentor Pegasus could get out of something like this! I play Polymerization, fusing the Hinotama Soul from my hand and your Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon together into the truly unstoppable Volcano Dragon!"

Griff and his loyal fans watched in mute horror as his strongest monster cringed and began to dissolve into millions of fleeting particles, which then combined with the light of the monster in Deirdre's hand, becoming a giant crimson winged lizard. Veins of magma etched its body and its wings seemed to have been sculpted from molten lava. The creature stretched to its full upright height and spread its magnificent wingspan, spattering the ground with ash and embers. 

Deirdre crossed his arms in proud satisfaction of the beast then turned back to his foe, who was quaking with fear. Other people in the crowd spoke in hushed tones things like "that isn't possible!" and "Griff can't lose! He's never lost before!" But of all these only one truly made Deirdre know that he had bested the best. "That's the end of it."

_'I knew you had it in you my friend. Now, finish him off! He didn't show you any mercy so none should be returned!'_

"Th-that just isn't possible..." he stammered, truly unable to comprehend that anyone could make a defeating move over him. He was the apprentice of the man who created the game! The same man who had only ever been defeated once, but Griff had never been defeated. He was superior to Pegasus! The student had surpassed the teacher!

"This is how it works, Griff. My monster doesn't have a set form of fusion. The Hinotama Soul fused with any Dragon monster will produce the Volcano Dragon, but based on the dragon sacrificed for the fusion, it gains five hundred points of attack for every five hundred points of attack divisible from the original dragon. Altogether, your Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon had five hundred occur in its attack score six times, and normally the Volcano Dragon only has an attack score of 2100. But after that very generous boost, its attack score is now 5100, meaning that your life points are in serious jeopardy."

"N-no...please!"

"Volcano Dragon, attack! Molten Fire Eruption!"

The great dragon exhaled a puff of smoke from its mouth before rearing back its head and releasing a reverberating howl. It then came back and sprayed a thick stream of black boiling lava from its mouth, which splattered around and across Griff, causing him to drop to his knees and his life points to plummet from 3450 to zero.

"And I win."

Absolute silence. Everyone was dead quiet, even the spirit of the Millennium Balance couldn't form the words needed for this occasion. However, it quickly passed when one lone voice rose up that made up for all others. Skylar had been in the crowd watching the entire time but did not inform her friend of her arrival. Only now did her frantic applause and hooting begin and in unison, all others joined in. The show of support for Deirdre was deafening and breathtaking.

Still louder than everyone else, Skylar pushed through the crowd and tackled Deirdre with a crushing hug. Only his peripheral vision warned him and gave him the split-second needed to retain his balance. 

It seemed then that Deirdre snapped out of a trance. He looked up in confusion, completely unaware that Skylar was hanging on him and that he had just defeated one of the best duelists in the world. Wondering if perhaps it had been Ahmose, he spoke to the spirit.

_'Well, what do you think? Am I ready for this big world-saving chore of yours?'_

_'Maybe, child. If nothing else I think it will be entertaining to watch your attempt.'_

_'Yeah, well lucky for me that I didn't listen to any of your oh-so perfect advice or I wouldn't feel the satisfaction that I do now. Hint the sarcasm.'_

_'I caught it, Deirdre. I didn't help you through most of that duel for a reason. Because if I had it would first have demeaned your accomplishment, and second of all I wouldn't have known that your plenty capable by yourself. You don't need me to tell you anything during duels.'_

_'No, but if I ask will you give it?'_

The spirit didn't respond for a few seconds but then fired back. _'Only if you're in deep.'_

Griff had yet to get to his feet but was forced to do so when his opponent walked over and held out his opened hand. "We agreed upon two locator cards and your rarest card. And I know that it is Toon World so don't hand me anything else."

"Fine!" Griff shouted, rising to his feet and nearly knocking Deirdre and Skylar off theirs. "You think this matters, kid? Huh?! Your still not even the same decimal of talent that I am! You can take these stupid cards," he shoved all three agreed upon cards into Deirdre's hands, "and then you can get ready to hand them back, because I am going to challenge you again and next time it'll be for your career as a duelist!"

Deirdre simply pocketed the three cards and walked away, ignoring whatever else Griff had to yell.

"Mark my words, you useless little nobody! You'll lose next time! I swear it! YOU HEAR ME?!!"

"What a jerk." Skylar said with a cheerful smile.

He nodded. "Tell me about it." 

The crowd began to dissipate, and now their topic of conversation was again on the champion Griff Terrace, but no longer about how strong a duelist he was, but how much of a poor sport he was. He took one last look around, saw no one including his usual entourage of beautiful women, and with a final frustrated shout, he stomped away.

His legs feeling weak, Deirdre stumbled over to the bench that he had first experienced his alternate personality at, and collapsed with a grunt. Skylar knew he was tired, and understandably so. It had been a close match and for most of it he was losing. Sitting on the edge of ones proverbial seat for nearly half-an-hour took quite a toll.

"So," Skylar said sitting down next to him. "Hows about a victory smoothie, huh? My treat."

Deirdre smirked but shook his head. "No, but thank you."

"Well, your welcome...I guess."

"For more than just the smoothie offer," he said looking up into her large, beautiful eyes. "I've known you for such a short time but you've already become my best friend. I am lucky to have you by my side, Skylar."

Skylar looked stunned, then blushed and turned away to hide her burning cheeks. "Umm...thank you."

He again gave a slow, solemn nod. Then out of a force of habit, looked down at his watch which told him that it was still not even nine o' clock yet. He looked back up at Skylar, who was still trying to drive away the flushing, and then caught a brief shiver of her bare arms, which prompted him to take off his brown bombers jacket and slip it around her shoulders. 

She gratefully pulled it tighter then accepted his hand when he rose to his feet. "Well. What now?" Deirdre asked.

She shrugged as he gently pulled her up. "Breakfast?"

"Didn't you eat before you left this morning?"

"Yeah," she said with a slow nod. "But watching that duel caused me to lose a few pounds due to extreme cardio-nervousness."

"Oh," he murmured, looking down at the ground and kicking some of the dirt away with the heel of his shoe. "Well, let's go to that Italian place down the street. I hear they make really good steak omelets."

"Omelets are Italian?"

"Who knows? Neither is pizza and believe it or not, the French did not make French fries. They were made by the Americans."

"Really?"

"Really." He confirmed.

"Huh. Weird."

After a second of silence, "Very."

Skylar began with a slow chuckle, and then Deirdre joined in with the same. Soon they were both writhing in full-throated laughter.

*~*~*~*~*

A sleek, silver train pulled into the station and after releasing its built-up steam, opened its sliding doors and began to unload the passengers. Among the last too get off were Tristan and Serenity, simply because she was still wearing bandages which blinded her recovering eyes. The two walked out hand-in-hand and waiting for them not far away was Espa Roba, who was holding a bouquet of red roses. Tristan saw the gift and began to boil with anger.

"Hello, you two." Espa said walking over with the flowers held ahead of him. Tristan seriously considered snatching them out of his hand and tossing them away (after all, Serenity wouldn't have been able to see it) but Espa was just a bit quicker and pushed them under her nose. "These are for you, my darling Serenity. Roses as beautiful as the girl I am giving them too."

"Oh, Espa? Is that you?" She said leaning forward a bit as if she could tell who it was by smell alone.

"It is." 

"Well, then thank you! That is so sweet." She hugged the flowers against her chest while slowly rotating back and forth at the waste.

Tristan grumbled something under his breath, then gently but more forcefully than usual, took her by the shoulders and turned her around. "Don't listen for a sec, okay, Serenity?" Tristan loomed over Espa, looking like he was just a few pegs of insanity away from mauling the false psychic. "You're killing my game, Espa! I'm trying to make it in good with Serenity and the first thing you do when we pull up is give her flowers!" He half-whispered, half-screamed.

Serenity, still holding the bouquet, sniffed the flowers and giggled happily.

"Hey, I didn't know this was a competition!" Espa fired back quietly. "Besides! She likes me more, it's obvious!"

All the color then drained out of Tristan's face, a sure sign that he was about to massacre the blue-haired boy, but then Serenity turned back around and intervened. "So, are we ready to head to Battle City? I want to see if Joey is dueling again today."

"Why yes we are, my sweet!" Espa beamed, taking her hand in his and skipping off with her. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see Tristan drag his thumb across his throat, threatening to decapitate him. Espa ignored him, and with a heavy-hearted sigh, Tristan put his hands in his jacket pockets and plodded along after them.

**_Author's Note: _**Pharaoh, that was for you. In fact, I even had a bit of fun paring up Espa and Serenity. After all, one can only dump so much seriousness into a chapter before they have to add some comedy. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it because I plan on getting more in-depth next chapter. So, until then.


	13. Ch 12: The Autumn of Man

**Chapter Twelve**

_The Autumn of Man_

**_Author's Note:_** Because I have finished my last year of school I no longer have access to Microsoft Word and therefore, my updates are going to become all unsophisticated like before. No italic's, bolding probably won't show up, and several other things will become standard. You'll know what I'm talking about as you read. Sorry for the sloppy inconvenience, this sucks for me too.

Marik sat contentfully in his oak armchair, watching a small television screen located a foot or two away from him. It rested on top of a clawed nightstand and was having obvious difficulties picking up reception despite that Marik and his Rare Hunter operation was less than a mile from Battle City. The picture flickered and wavered like the air of a hot desert afternoon but its lone viewer didn't seem bothered by it.

Almost like he was technology illiterate, Marik tapped his fingers rhythmically on the armrests and leaned in closer, trying to get a better understanding of the events he was watching. That boy, the bearer of the Millennium Balance, had just won a tremendous victory over a world-renowned duelist champion. The images were quite humorous, actually. The reporter on the scene had already attempted to interview Griff Terrace about his loss and was promptly told away, only in a more vulgar fashion. Deirdre simply ignored the reporter but his young female friend was more than happy to illustrate the events.

"This is rather amusing," Marik mumbled to himself. Then a slight, almost inaudible noise came from behind him. It was like the clank of an iron pot falling. Nonetheless, he didn't need to turn around to see the source of the disturbance; he adjusted his shimmering Millennium Rod and after a quiet moment, smiled warmly. "Why, hello my dear sister. This is a pleasant surprise indeed."

Ishizu stepped out of the shadows and came up behind his chair, placing her delicate hands on his wide, angular shoulders. "I came to tell you something important, brother."

"I'm sure," he laughed and rose to his feet. He pointed his deadly artifact directly in line with her eyes and grinned wider. "You have made a costly mistake infiltrating my storehouse. Flesh and blood or not, you're a dangerous foe too me now. I'll make sure you not leave here alive, or at least not with that item still around your neck."

He tapped his Rod on the Millennium Necklace hanging still on Ishizu's cleavage, causing a bright spark of conflicting energies. Ishizu sighed, almost painfully, and gazed into the mad eyes of her brother. "I so wish these events hadn't taken place. I wish things could go back to the way they used to be before you became a power-hungry despot."

Marik shrugged. "Alas, we cannot all have what we desire. Now, care to explain your presence here before I simply crush your mind?"

A torn, very unbecoming frown marred Ishizu's face and she nodded agreeably. "I came to try to persuade you out of these events. I know what you're intending to do, brother. I have glimpsed into the future and I have seen the events unfolding."

Marik stood still but becoming somewhat vexed. He crossed his arms as if expecting this to go somewhere.

"I know you've never held much stock in my predictions but listen to me now. Know that little you can do will alter the course of events. Some will happen no matter what changes you make and it will end up as a downfall not only for you but for countless others. Innocents, Marik! Innocent lives that don't deserve the agony that is to come!"

Marik let out a breathless sigh, but it wasn't one of irritation but rather one of understanding. Still, the enraged visage never left. "I've thought about this more than you could possibly imagine, sister. I've weighed the consequences and I am willing to accept them." He smiled again, looking up into her large beautiful eyes. "You know I am doing this for all of us? I am seeking revenge for all the time we gave the pharaoh, protecting his tomb from nonexistent foes, awaiting his return. If you truly believe that he ever once cared for our family then I think he would have done something to encourage our faith! Not once did he 'bless' us with a visit, ensuring us that what we were doing was right! He abandoned us, sister!"

Marik seethed, thrashing around his arms in vibrant displays of emotion. "We did so much for him! We gave our souls to him willingly and dozens of our clan sacrificed themselves in his name! I never once saw anything that would have made me think of him as anything more than a myth! A name that people threw around as happenstance to a curse! It was an illness that plagued our family exclusively and I'm sick of it!"

Marik let out a shout of pure rage, bashing his fist into his chair and knocking it squarely to the ground. Ishizu watched it fall and a moment later met her brother's gaze again, tears stinging her eyes.

"I feel betrayed, Ishizu! And because of that betrayal I am going too make the all-mighty pharaoh pay for his displeasure in us with blood and misery and sacrifice of all other 'innocents' as you call them!" He leaned forward and grabbed her harshly by the forearms, causing a pained gasp from Ishizu. "My plans will go on without a hitch, and maybe I will bring about the end of my life, but at least others will go with me and the pharaoh will then realize so strongly that what he did was wrong!"

"This isn't right, Marik!" Ishizu pleaded. "Your anger shouldn't be filtered onto virtuous lives. It should be dealt with personally! I'll help you if I must but you need to ask!"

Marik shook his head and waved off her offer like it was a bothersome fly. "But I won't ask and I will still not stop my destiny. The prophecy will be fulfilled and I will take the power which is so rightfully mine!" He took a calming breath and grinned anew. "You know what is coming, correct?"

Ishizu wiped away the tears trickling down her face and nodded solemnly. "You are going to issue the challenges for the final duel. The Autumn of Man."

Marik nodded and smiled brightly. "It will be a battle for the ages, my beloved sister. A time of darkness and evil so absolute that it will be discussed among future generations vividly. It will be written about in textbooks and I, whether alive or otherwise, will go down in history as the most influential figure of the millennium! I will be feared not only in this time but in others as well! Now, you can either join me or perish like so many others."

"Not only will I not join you," Ishizu stated firmly, "but I will fight against your tyranny."

Marik nodded, accepting her words. "As you wish. And I've changed my mind as well. You are free to leave, with your Millennium Item and all. Just know that I'll be taking it eventually so cherish what little time you have with it left."

Ishizu gave him a piercing stare with her large opal eyes and turned about on her heel, marching towards a shadow in the back of the room. She stopped just before taking a final step the shadow and turned her head to glance at him over her shoulder. "May the gods have mercy on your soul." And with that final cryptic note, she entered the dark corner and vanished into the inky blackness.

Marik stood in silence for several minutes afterward, staring blankly into that corner, and after enough time of frustrating solitude, he let out a thunderous scream and spun around like a top, smashing the side of the television with his Millennium Rod, breaking it into dozens of sparking shards and scattered electrical wires. The twisted remains clattered to the ground and Marik idly dropped his powerful artifact to the ground, as if he had a moment of clarity against the evil coursing through his veins.

Panting hard, almost winded, Marik stooped down and retrieved his Millennium Rod. "This is a liberation for all, whether Ishizu realizes it or not." He then waded through the mess, his chair and the pieces of his television, and exited the room.


	14. Ch 13: Soul Asylum

**Chapter Thirteen**

_Soul Asylum_  
  
Deirdre never understood why he thought his problems were just going to be over, but mere minutes went by after he and Skylar sat down before a piercing screech entered his mind, tried to gain control. He and the spirit of his Millennium Balance fought the intrusion, and succeeded. Instead of complete domination, he received an ultimatum.  
  
"Quite cozy in here." Marik chided, standing inside the black, hollow room that was Deirdre's Spirit Chamber. The landlord of the body stood glaring at the intruder while Ahmose towered just behind him. Neither looked as cheery or relieved as they had mere minutes before. In fact it seemed that winning the duel with Griff only strengthened a boiling rage culminating inside of Deirdre. However, he did not act on the hate seething inside, he simply stood with his arms crossed and awaited Marik to do whatever it was he was there for.  
  
"I won't be long if that is what is what's bothering you."  
  
"What's bothering me is you deciding that you can just muscle your way into my head. Now if you don't mind, get lost."  
  
"First of all, I could make you my dribbling thrall in an instant if I so chose too so I hope you won't be foolish enough to provoke me!"  
  
Deirdre grinned and shook his head. "You tried, Marik. I felt you trying too gain control but I fought you off. Your power is not on par with my own, I've come to understand."  
  
"How dare you! My power is absolute! I OWN you, child!" Marik thrashed inside of the chamber, gaining only a slight rise out of his company. "And you will pay for your insolence soon, once I have firmly set myself as ruler of this world."  
  
"Then I guess I'll be waiting awhile, eh?"  
  
"Silence and listen to me! Despite your uselessness, you are the owner of a Millennium Item and therefore, in accordance with the Prophecy, you are to join all others in a grand spectacle. A battle that will decide the fate's of many."  
  
"The Autumn of Man?" Ahmose quoted, remembering with quite some clarity, the antediluvian scriptures back in his time. He knew all the mythical mumbo-jumbo and peculiar jargon, and Deirdre came to rely on him as a textbook of information whenever it came to understanding something that Marik or Yami Yugi doted upon.  
  
"Quite right. It will be tonight at midnight. A full moon will light up the sky and the ritual will begin. Once started it is every person for themselves. If you survive, which is doubtful--"  
  
Deirdre scoffed and gave Marik a nasty look.  
  
"--then you will be worthy of the final duel. Ah, now that will be a show worthy of history."  
  
"Not likely," Ahmose grumbled, his deep penetrating voice reverberating in the room. "The last one was barely remembered and survives now only as crude carvings on the ruined temple walls of our fore-fathers. It is likely that this one won't even get honorable mention."  
  
"I'll make sure otherwise, my dear vizier. Under my rule, everyone will know and they will come to respect and fear me as the victor."  
  
"Again, not likely."  
  
Marik shrugged and held up his Rod. In a flash of light and a swirling cloud of purple smoke, he was gone, not unlike many theater magician's Deirdre had seen before. He turned around to face his great guardian, whose face was grim and unreadable in its emotion. His thick, python-like arms were crossed over his bulging chest but remained still as no breath heaved in his long-dead lungs.  
  
"What are you thinking, Ahmose?"  
  
No reply came for many moments, but then Deirdre began to clearly hear frenzied shouts from the outside world. Apparently entering his Spirit Chamber caused Deirdre's body to become quite motionless, almost to the point of looking dead. Skylar must have noticed and after several inaudible attempts at stirring him out of his reverie, she began to scream insanely. He was probably being shaken rather violently now, if he knew her as well as he thought he did.  
  
Still no answer came and Ahmose was looking no less stern. Deirdre decided it best to let him gather his thoughts in peace and he returned to the mortal coil.  
  
"DEIRDRE!"  
  
"Ah! What?! WHAT!"  
  
Skylar jumped back as Deirdre rose to his feet, being startled severely and knocking over the flower vase and the salt and pepper shakers. Luckily their drinks remained intact. Skylar was panting hard and clutching her heart while people all over the restaurant's terrace were looking at them with great concern.  
  
"Um, please return to your drinks. Nothing wrong here."  
  
One by one, the people grudgingly stumbled back into their own conversations. Likely several were now about them.  
  
Deirdre looked down at the ghastly pale and terrified Skylar and with an apologetic smile; he sat back down in his seat. "Sorry about that."  
  
"God I hate you sometimes." She gasped.  
  
He smiled rather largely, as if he understood all too well, and took a sip of his drink.  
  
"What was that about? You just blanked! It was like that movie with the people who got their bodies snatched by aliens."  
  
"Oh please."  
  
"I'm serious! I was worried!"  
  
"You worry too much. I was talking to the spirit."  
  
Skylar threw up her hands in exasperation. "Oh, and that is so normal! Everyone has an ancient Egyptian king living inside of them! What was I thinking?"  
  
"He wasn't a pharaoh," Deirdre commented. "He was the royal advisor to the pharaoh."  
  
Skylar spat. "Oh, well excuse me!"  
  
Skylar unwound the wool scarf she had bought around her neck and set it down on the table. It was brown and green checkers with fluffy tassels hanging off either end. Getting Deirdre down to the mall, even if it was only a five-minute walk, had been quite the chore. He was the epitome of the male stereotype of hating shopping but after several minutes of pleading and another five of pushing, he begrudgingly agreed. Though any other day it would have been a impossible task.  
  
Though he was the same old stubborn, emotionless Deirdre she had known over the last few days, he was slowly growing more understanding. If nothing else he was beginning to understand women and how they always got their way. His penance came in the form of smoothies, which he again, after much arguing, accepted from her. Though he ended up buying but didn't seem bothered by it.  
  
"Well the scarf was expensive!"  
  
"I told you too buy the latex one. It was heat-insulated and twenty bucks cheaper."  
  
"Yeah but it was so tacky and slick. I would have been blinded by the glare and choked by the fashion police."  
  
"Well it makes either choice seem rather silly now, doesn't it? It is past noon and has to be eighty degrees out here."  
  
As if she was embarrassed, Skylar bundled herself up further into her jacket. "Well I'm still cold."  
  
"I gave you the option to eat inside."  
  
"But it's nice _outside_!"  
  
As if unable to comprehend her logic, Deirdre continued on with his much more valid half of the discussion. "The ceiling fan is on and a blue summer's sky is painted on the walls. Difference?"  
  
Neither one seemed to notice the waitress who had come about a minute earlier and was listening intently in on their conversation. They both looked up at her at the same time and while Skylar was sort of embarrassed, Deirdre didn't even blink.  
  
"So, you two lovebirds want anything else?"  
  
"Tell her that the mural inside is as realistic as actually being outside."  
  
The waitress looked at Deirdre like he had grown a second head but turned to Skylar as if she was about to do as he asked. Skylar waved her away with her hand and a smile.  
  
"Ignore him, he's just retarded."  
  
Deirdre looked rather hurt about that comment but the waitress just laughed and walked away, saying something about "young love and all that it entails."  
  
Skylar was smiling for some odd reason and only after a minute of personal grumbling did Deirdre notice it. He looked at her through his upraised eyebrow before bothering to ask her what was so amusing, though he knew immediately that he would regret it.  
  
"She called us 'lovebirds.' "  
  
"Shut up, I don't care."  
  
"We're in love."  
  
"We are not. I said shut up."  
  
"You wanna hug me, you wanna kiss me." She sang happily.  
  
"I swear to Christ, Skylar. Not Another Word."  
  
She agreed to his wishes and instead turned around in her chair and overlapped her hands in the front and placed them on her shoulders, giving the ruse that she was in a passionate make-out session with someone in front of her. Complete with sucking and moaning noises.  
  
"You are _so_ trying my patience."  
  
"Oh, oh my love! Let's go back to my room and make sweet love all night long!"  
  
"Does strangling you count?!" He hissed.  
  
But before he could make good on his threat, a searing pain overcame his entire body. It felt as if fire ants were dancing on his skin, thousands of them simultaneously biting him with their mandibles. For a moment he attempted to ignore it, no longer in the state of mind for threatening his companion. But once the pain intensified he could no longer ignore it and biting his lip until it bled wasn't even close to the relief he desired.  
  
Skylar had turned back around now, a huge smile playing on her face, but it quickly melted into a frown of worry as she saw Deirdre writhing in pain as he sat with his head buried in his sweating palms. His hands covered his face and the plastic drape covering the table was crumpling up in his direction, like he was biting it.  
  
The feeling grew worse, now he was blinded with agony. He shot to his feet, this time overturning the table and spilling all its contents. People all over looked back at them for a minute but actually turned away immediately, thinking this was just more childish behavior coming from their direction.  
  
"Deirdre?! Deirdre what's wrong?"  
  
Her words died out as the golden ring on his finger shined bright and transformed into a large baroque scale. The eye-shaped emblem on the front was blazing as if on fire.  
  
"He's, he's attacking me! He wants control!"  
  
Not knowing about the existence of Marik, Skylar thought he meant the other inhabitant of Deirdre's mind. The spirit of the Millennium Balance, and that is just what she asked.  
  
"Y-yes! He's trying to...fight..."  
  
"Fight? Fight what? Fight you?"  
  
But her words struck deaf ears. Deirdre mind was no longer there, only his body was. His eyes had gone pitch black and caused a frightened gasp from Skylar, who stumbled backward, kicking away her chair as she did so. Yami Deirdre took a tentative step forward, as if testing his footing, but then the spirit seemed sure of his ability to walk, to breathe again, and approached her. A black aura of power rippled off of him, causing nearby objects to dart away from his path as if being picked up and thrown by an invisible hand. No one around understood and did what any other person in such a bizarre situation would do: they ran away screaming.  
  
Yami Deirdre was looming over the cowering Skylar now, blocking out the sun with his imposing form. Skylar screamed in a mix of both fear and fury and got to her feet, pounding on his chest with her fists without relent. "Let him go! Let Deirdre go you freak!"  
  
An echoing laugh escaped his throat and with the hand that wasn't clutching the Millennium Balance he grabbed Skylar around the neck and lifted her up off her feet. She choked and struggled, grabbing his iron-hard arm in a futile attempt to break his grip.  
  
He said nothing discernible and with a casual swing he launched Skylar across the patio and into the protective flower-patterned iron grate blocking the fifteen foot fall to the ground below. It creaked in protest as her weight slammed against it, knocking her unconscious and nearly snapping it clean off. One of the people who decided to hide under his own upturned table ran to her aid as Yami Deirdre lurched like a zombie into the restaurant, causing chairs, condiments, and even heroic citizens to soar backwards if they got to close.  
  
The spirit continued his not-so subtle warpath through the café and down the stairs, ripping the entrance doors off the hinges as he neared and strolled through, completely focused on some mysterious goal.

"Keep an eye out for those goons with capes, guys. Uhh...well, Duke anyway."  
  
Serenity let out a cute little laugh at Tristan's words, though just as easily as it could have been mistaken for a joke as an insult.  
  
Duke Devlin had joined their ranks, assisting the incompetent and the blind. In a sense he figured himself the only person worth a hill of beans out of the three but kept his comments to himself. He was, after all, supposed to be reformed from the stuck-up jerk that they had met during that whole Dungeon Dice Monsters fiasco. Yes, no one would be risking their careers today or be forced into a dog costume and humiliated, though he wouldn't mind getting Serenity into something more...slinky.  
  
Tristan slowed down and joined alongside Duke who was walking behind them. Serenity likely still believed that Tristan was walking next to her so encase she reached out he had to hurry up. Though it seemed that his intentions were entirely benign though rather unscrupulous. He had gotten behind her simply too look at her curvaceous backside.  
  
Duke saw what he was doing and with a grin and a disapproving shake of his head he agreed whole-heartedly in the form of holding out his hands and making the warping motion of a woman's sultry form. Tristan gave him a friendly smack on the shoulder and ran back to Serenity's side.  
  
And as if they didn't have enough problems to deal with, terrified screaming pierced the calm afternoon air. It was not far ahead.  
  
"What was that?!" Serenity said nervously, throwing out her hands in the hopes of grabbing something so she didn't accidentally get lost just in the off-chance a riot or something was happening. Tristan grabbed her flailing arms and pulled her against him. She graciously latched onto his waste and held on for dear life.  
  
"I'll go look ahead. You stay here with Serenity, okay?" Duke suggested.  
  
"Yeah, all right. Hurry back, man."  
  
He nodded and took off, running down the street just as people came running towards him, waving their arms in blind panic and pushing their way around him. Duke continued running until he got up over the hump in the street and saw a kid standing dumbly in the middle of the road. Cars, smashed up and some even with odd cuts and burns in them, were piled up all over but not one touched him. The occupants of these vehicles ran away while others attempted to seek retribution but got nothing but an idle wave of the hand and were thrown away several feet effortlessly.  
  
Duke didn't know what to make of it. He had never seen that kid before nor had he ever seen the strange item held tightly in his hand. A towering inferno of black flame twisted around the boy, scorching the very concrete beneath his feet.  
  
"Outta this world," Duke mumbled and turned around heading back towards his other comrades.  
  
Tristan and Serenity had wisely retreated out of the street and sat nearby against a run-down soda shop. Duke went running back and Tristan stood to greet him. "So? What did you find? What was the cause off all that commotion?"  
  
Duke gestured his thumb over his shoulder, pointing back from whence he came. "I guess it has something to do with this strange kid back there. He has this giant black fire coming off of him and it doesn't look like anything can touch him. Even cars are stopped and burned when they get too close."  
  
Tristan gave him an incredulous look but didn't dismiss it as entirely impossible. "Well, that's sort of weird."  
  
"Yeah, but if it helps whatever heroic action you're thinking about right now, I'm guessing it has something to do with a big metal produce scale he's holding. Maybe it's some new government experiment gone wrong."  
  
"Yeah, maybe. Let's go check it out." Tristan held out his hand to the calm and composed Serenity. "Here, c'mon, you're coming too."  
  
"'Kay." She said timidly and after a second of fumbling, took his hand and allowed him to pull her up. The three took off experimentally in the direction Duke came back from, walking slowly as to not accidentally disturb the cause of this uproar. The last thing they needed along with being chased by a gang was being chased by some maniac with magical powers.  
  
They walked up the hill and crouched when they were within viewing distance, and just like Duke described it, there was the boy who hadn't moved from his spot but had turned around. He was now facing away but it was rather difficult to make out his form now. The fire was growing thicker.  
  
"Who is that...?" Tristan breathed, looking at Duke who simply shrugged.  
  
"What is what?" Serenity asked, gazing directly forward but obviously not being able to see anything due to the bandages covering her healing eyes.  
  
Duke looked over Tristan's back at the girl. "Well, you heard what I described to Tristan, right?"  
  
She nodded, still looking in the direction of the burning boy.  
  
"It's just that. Some strange kid is using a...power, or a device of some sort. Really big, flashy magic or--"  
  
"It's Deirdre!" Tristan shouted, pointing down at the kid who had now turned back to face in their direction but wasn't looking at them, rather he was intent on another car that had weaved around from the eastern street, going over the sidewalk, trying to get around him. It failed and with a simple thrust of his hand, a ball of eldritch fire erupted from Deirdre's hand and launched into the passenger side window of the car. If the driver hadn't been quick on his feet he would have been torched as the entire car went up in a cascading blaze.  
  
Even at their distance the heat was extreme enough to make all three of them turn their heads. When they looked back, thick dark smoke was blotting out the sun.  
  
"We have'ta get down there." Tristan announced and stood to his feet.  
  
"Are you insane?!" Duke shouted, getting to his feet as well. "What do you intend on doing about this? Ask him nicely to stop wrecking the city? I don't think he'll be too keen on listening."  
  
"I'm with Tristan." Serenity said, also rising to her feet.  
  
Duke sighed and threw up his hands. "Great, I decided to help a couple of lunatic courage sticklers..."  
  
The group (Duke included) ran down the hill and snuck around as quietly and carefully as they could manage. When they got past the smoldering mess of twisted metal that used to be a car moments before they could clearly see Deirdre standing a few feet away, his deadly fire still blazing as he watched like a hawk for anyone who decided to interfere in whatever it was he was doing. He launched the occasional fireball, though none seemed bound to kill anyone. Most simply struck the street in someone's path or blasted away a section of building. The three of them, and likely Deirdre as well, could hear sirens in the distance approaching.  
  
"He's causing an awful lot of trouble." Tristan commented but was stopped from saying anything more when Deirdre laughed and held up his Millennium Balance. He held it loosely above his head and the two chained scales began to ooze a white glowing liquid which overflowed from the dishes and splashed down to the ground, settling like water. The eye emblem in the center hummed with an arcane energy, pulsing and even spinning on the spherical center of the Balance.  
  
His aura blazed again, forcing the three to cower and cover their faces from the strange sensation, which was like fire as in it was hot but it was also cold. It was like they had been microwaved.  
  
When they looked back up, Deirdre was passed out on the ground, the fire had died out. Instead standing in front of him was a terrifying creature of prodigious height. It was skeletal in its appearance, gaunt to the extreme and seemingly held together by a very thin stretch of flesh. Tristan and Duke cringed at the sight of its face, which was like a horrid cross between a bird and a goat. It had elements from both these creatures, curving horns and a razor-sharp beak, feathers and possibly even patches of scales.  
  
"Oh man." Tristan whispered, as the monster let out a frightful howl which sounded like the anguished screams of a thousand people. Serenity didn't need to see the monster to become terrified and she held her hands over her ears to drown out any further screams; tears were pouring from her eyes.  
  
The police and fire trucks had arrived followed closely behind by several ambulances. The monster took off immediately, crushing vehicles and maybe even a few unlucky officers beneath its talons. Though both Duke and Serenity were rather terrified, and Tristan was not the acception, he still found the bravado to bolt away from them for a minute and retrieve the barely alive form of Deirdre. When he pulled him back to the group, Duke made out several minor burns all over his body but nothing looked very severe. Likely he was now mostly suffering from exhaustion.  
  
"Tristan? Tristan! You here?!"  
  
"Yeah, I'm back." He said panting, laying Deirdre down at their feet. He panted slightly and moved his mouth like he was going to say something but no words came out.  
  
"What happened?" She said racked with worry.  
  
"I dunno. Deirdre called whatever that thing is and I guess it drained him. He's dead on his feet."  
  
The monster let out another torturous wail, again causing Serenity great emotional pain and she let out a muffled scream before breaking down into tears again. It slammed its bony fist into a still-moving ambulance; its occupants having to dive out of the moving vehicle or risk being crushed.  
  
"Damn you, Ahmose..."  
  
Duke and Tristan looked down at Deirdre who was beginning to awaken.  
  
"You trying to say something buddy? Then before you do answer me something! What is that!" Tristan said pointing to the lumbering hulk demolishing the entire area as it walked.  
  
"It is...Egyptian myth...Anubis, g-god of mummification, weighed a person's heart against a f-feather...those who failed, those not pure, were fed to a m-monster..."  
  
"Oh crap." Duke said, followed by a helpless groan.  
  
"Yeah, I remember reading about that in History class too. So, that is the monster?" Tristan observed. "It certainly lives up to the expectation."  
  
"Whatever. What are we gonna do about it? If it stomps on much longer we are gonna have the military and a lot of injured people on our hands."  
  
Tristan shrugged, unsure of how to answer Duke's question. There was nothing they could do, but likely Deirdre could banish it back to the Hell that it came from. "So that is what we will do," he said stoically. "Deirdre's gonna have to get rid of it. He's the only one who probably can, other than firing tank shells and dropping bombs on it."  
  
Duke looked at Deirdre lying with his eyes closed again. "Well, he isn't really up for it now."  
  
Tristan looked at their last hope, who had fallen unconscious again. With a mixture of fear, anger, even resentment, he sighed and shook his head. "We gotta wake him up, again." And as if he had no other choice, Tristan reached down to his hand, where the Millennium Balance was still firmly gripped, and attempted to pry it free.  
  
He was going to talk to the source. 


	15. Ch 14: Holding Your Own

**Chapter Fourteen**

_Holding Your Own_

Deirdre stood in the center of a pitch-black room, one not unlike several others he had been in so far. In fact, it was becoming somewhat redundant and the level of fright that it once added was quite a bit scaled down. Though his memory about a few of the recent events was a bit fuzzy, many of the key events seemed drilled into his mind, like they had been put there by someone else's imposing hand.

And then Deirdre got a fresh reminder about why he preferred to be alone so much. In a small arms-reach circle, lighted from an unknown source high above, three other individuals appeared. One was the disappointed face of Yami Yugi, another was the sinister grin and cocky drawl that Yami Bakura always wore, and the fourth and final was the originator of the gathering in the first place, Marik. The four men bore holes into one another with their eyes as the field grew wider, as if seeking to accompany something in the near future.

"Do I need to explain this or shall we just get started?" Marik mocked, his hands were surprisingly devoid of the Millennium Rod. And only when Deirdre noticed that did he see that Yugi didn't possess the Millennium Puzzle nor did Bakura hold the Millennium Ring around his neck. Of course he was also not holding his item, but it didn't much seem like it mattered. Ahmose wasn't in his mind at the moment but the others showed that the original occupants of their bodies had left for the time being.

"It isn't midnight, Marik," Yami Yugi scolded, half-turning on his heel to face the man. "You are jumping the gun. Doesn't that go against your vaunted prophecy?"

Marik grinned and shook his head, his characteristic grin playing upon his lips. "I simply grew impatient, and now seemed like the perfect time. Everyone is incapacitated on the outside and will battle for their minds on the inside." Marik took a step back, and the others mimicked him. A Duel Disk appeared on everyone's arm with a _whoosh_ of air and again the playing field expanded. "The rules are simple: No battling for sanity today, this is simple supremacy. The last man standing will claim all prizes in the end, the three losers will have their memories of this event erased," when he said that Marik gave Deirdre a very odd look, "and they will be stripped of their Millennium Item. Also, if you planned on winning the Battle City tournament you will find yourself out of luck because your locator cards will be destroyed before you awaken."

Marik cast a glance around at the other competitors; all who fixed him with a stony, expressionless stare. Even Bakura's generally cocky attitude was replaced with a British stiff upper lip. Yugi stood with his arms crossed over his chest, unmoving, and Deirdre had yet to move anything except for his feet when the time came to take a step. Satisfied, Marik pulled his dueling deck from his back pocket and locked it securely into the card reader. The others did the same.

"Let's duel." Marik said with a chuckle and began pulling his starting hand. "Ah, I love a good cliché."

…………

…………

"Serenity!" A voice called, coming progressively closer. The person called her name again and this time she didn't mistake it for a coincidence. Joey's little sister looked up from her spot watching over the unconscious Tristian to see Espa Roba making a mad dash towards her. Duke Devlin, who was also nearby leaning up against the wall and watching the police battle, in vain, a giant Egyptian monster.

"Espa?" Serenity called, looking around blankly. With her bandages still on, she saw nothing but darkness. He found her hand though and knelt down to her level. "That is you, right Espa?"

"Yes, it is. Sorry that I left you at the station so abruptly like I did." He cast a venomous glare at Tristian, who didn't seem capable of retaliating at the moment. "I accidentally tripped and fell into a storage locker."

Duke caught the exchange and stifled a laugh of his own.

"Oh, well it's all right, and I could certainly use you around right now. When Tristian touched that scale," she fumbled around for the Millennium Balance still held tightly in Deirdre's cold hand, "he just passed out. Duke said he was fine though, like he had just fallen into a trance. Right, Duke?"

Duke looked over and nodded, then remembered she wouldn't be able to see it so he spoke up. "Uh, yeah...yeah he's fine. Don't worry about it, I'm sure he'll wake up soon, get this problem fixed and we can be on our way to finding your brother again."

Serenity beamed at hearing the mention of her brother and Espa took her by the hand and led her to sitting across from the unconscious Tristian. He took an aching seat down next to her, let out a sigh and let his hair cushion the impact as he purposely thumped the concrete wall behind him. "I tell ya, this tournament is stressing me out. It'll be nice to get home and spend some time with my family once it's all over and done with."

Serenity continued to look straight forward as she spoke, figuring that it couldn't be considered rude if she was blind anyway. "You did get six locator cards, right? Are you going to the finals?"

Espa didn't answer for a moment but ultimately shrugged. "I got five. One more and I'll make the finals so I'm kind of hoping those two wake up soon." He nudged Deirdre's arm with the sole of his shoe. "They can watch my triumphant accent into the finals, where I will defeat all challengers an--"

"--And you'll loose again, just like you did the first time you battled Wheeler. I caught the show on T.V. down at my shop." Duke said, causing Espa's face to burn red and his fingers to curl into a very ungentlemanly hand gesture. Duke started laughing, as did Espa. Serenity, not catching any of that, simply rocked her head back and forth, hoping that whatever was so funny would be made clear to her one way or another.

"You know," she started, still not moving her head to face them, "it's times like this when I wish I had a camera. Maybe then I could piece together all of these conversations that I don't understand later on when I can see again."

Duke and Espa had stopped laughing the moment she began to speak and heard her clearly, and both looked at the same time to a electronics store across the street. A camcorder was displayed in the window. The two grinned mischievously at each other then looked back at her. "I think we can work something out."

…………

…………

"I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior in defense mode!" Yugi slapped down his monster, along-side its manufactured brother, Beta the Magnet Warrior. "I also place two more cards face down and end my turn."

The duel hadn't been going on long and already it seemed that Bakura, who was currently building up an incredible defensive line, was doing the best and playing the best game. Marik had made no secret of his strategy, getting out the necessary number of sacrifices to use his Egyptian God card, The Winged Dragon of Ra. Yugi had also put Slifer the Sky Dragon in his deck but was certainly not thinking of relying on it. Deirdre had taken and inflicted Life Point damage but only had one Darkfire Soldier #1 monster on the field and it had been weakened by a trap card, decisively played by Bakura.

"Just like before, you are nothing in this duel, Deirdre. You'll be the first to fall and us big boys can get on with it. So draw your card and make your move, it's not like it'll matter anyway."

"It'll matter more then you think," Deirdre grumbled and drew a card from his deck, which happened to be the Lady Assailant of Flames. Not a deciding card. He cast a quick glance over his hand, seeing the amused stares from Bakura and Marik, and the slightly concerned one from Yugi. "All right, I play the Lady Assailant of Flames in attack mode." His monster appeared, dusting off the embers from her clothes and crouching down, crossing her knives in front of her. "And I set down one more card and end my turn."

Bakura watched and turned to face Deirdre, somewhat breaking the circle the four men had made. "This is too easy." He drew his card and laughed wickedly at the results. "Ha! I'll be the victor of this duel all in one move. I play Destiny Board!" The ghostly image of an "F" appeared, hovering in front of Bakura. "I'll humiliate you with the same move I used to beat you last time, Deirdre! And at the same time I'll defeat the other two as well! This couldn't be simpler!"

Deirdre never flinched and activated his facedown card. "Riryoku Field activates, negating the Destiny Board before you can lay down any other pieces."

Bakura shot him a startled glance, then one of absolute rage. "H-how dare you! I was offering you the chance for an easy way out you idiot, now I will simply enjoy wrenching your heart and snuffing out all hopes you might have of winning!"

Yugi clicked a button on his Duel Disk as well. "I activate Grid Bypass, which allows an intervening Battle Phase to commence for the operator of this card and the person who's turn it currently is!"

"Don't forget Yugi, it also allows direct Life Point attacks during that turn, meaning we don't have to destroy his monsters to attack him!" Deirdre said, pointing his finger menacingly at Bakura, who only grinded his teeth with anger, absolutely furious that he had been upstaged during his moment of gloating.

"Darkfire Soldier, Lady Assailant, attack Bakura's Life Points directly!" His first monster, the Darkfire Soldier, took a sliding rush forward, propelled by a gout of flames, and slashed hard at him, knocking Bakura right down to the ground. His second attack, which came from the Lady Assailant of Flames, was an acrobatics display. The duel monster back flipped over Bakura's defending monsters and threw a collection of three knives, causing even more harm. In the end, Bakura went from a commanding 4000 to a struggling 1000 Life Points. Of course, it could have been more but Bakura's last hurrah, the trap card on Deirdre's monster, took away 200 attack points.

"And don't forget that I get a turn as well, tomb robber!"

Bakura seethed, looking up at Yugi with madness flaring in his eyes.

Yugi gestured his knight towards the foe, like a general commanding his troops. "Alpha, attack and obliterate Bakura's remaining Life Points!"

The monster buckled down with its shield and used it to defend just before the attack. It leaped into the air and came down upon Bakura, slashing him from the top of the head to the ground and depleting his score. With a howl of absolute fury his Duel Disk, and his cards, vanished, and Bakura was sucked out of the black world like water through a funnel. Deirdre and Yugi realigned, forming a triangle pattern with Marik, who was not at all pleased with what had just occurred.

"Wise you are to remove my ally, Deirdre." He said, sounding every bit like the madman everyone called him. "But this is no longer your duel. I must battle the pharaoh now. You understand, I'm sure."

"I am not just giving up and leaving, Marik. You put me into this duel and if you want me gone you are going to have to defeat me." He locked eyes then with the wannabe dictator, and a light grin marred his usually serious expression. "And it's your turn, so if you would be so kind?"

Marik nodded and drew one card, then set down another. "I play Pyramid Turtle in defense mode!" Marik summoned a giant brown tortoise with a massive golden monolith attached seamlessly to its back in place of a shell. "And I will also lay down this card," Marik gingerly picked one more card from his hand and slid it into the reader. "Spy Glass, activate!"

A telescope appeared on the field and zeroed in on Deirdre's hand not unlike the reticle of a missile.

"The effect is that whomever I choose must show me their hand and I am able to pick one card from it to use as my own. And guess who I am using this handy little item on?" Marik pointed at Deirdre and threw back his head for a laugh. His victim knew better then to consider this the end of the match and briefly paused before walked forward, meeting Marik halfway in the center of the arena. Deirdre held up his hand, revealing the four available cards, and Marik certainly took his time making his decision. Ultimately, his fingers landed on the leftmost card.

"I pick this, Prestidigitation."

Deirdre raised an eyebrow at the choice but didn't question it. In fact he smiled and the two duelists stepped back in position.

"That was a dumb choice, Marik. Your chances of correctly naming the next card in my deck are non-existent."

Marik shook his head and slid the pilfered card into the reader. "I beg to differ. I can guarantee that I know exactly what card is next in line." The symbol of the Millennium Item, the ornate eye, blazed like fire on Marik's forehead, and snuffed out as quickly as it appeared. "I say that the next card in your deck is Barrel Dragon!"

Deirdre scoffed at his presumptuous guess and reached down to his deck, slipping out the very next card and looking at it.

"N-no...way. How can it be?"

He was right. He glared right at the Barrel Dragon card and Marik laughed at him for placing such horrific doubt. Not putting it past Marik to cheat but also knowing that he could do little about it in a place that was obviously outside of Battle City commission, Deirdre walked forward and relinquished one of his most prized monsters over to the enemy.

"And now I can play it without sacrificing two weaker monsters. So Barrel Dragon, come out and serve your new master!"

The imposing creature appeared in a shower of white pixels, the iron comprising its body shined with fresh polish and each of its three long rifles began to power up, humming as they charged up and prepared for the moment when they might be needed.

Which was immediately.

"Barrel Dragon, attack and destroy all of Deirdre's monsters!" Marik said, his eyes wide and his teeth barred, even his clenched fist screamed "insanity". For that brief moment, Deirdre pitied him. He was so blindly lost in his conquest of the world that nothing else seemed to matter, including the people he rolled over in the quest to achieve his goals.

The dragon's rifles all simultaneously fired a bolt of smoking hot energy, crashing against the Darkfire Soldier #1 and obliterating it. Deirdre felt the holographic, though still very real feeling, sting of pain as his Life Points got a large bite taken out of them.

3100.

The Lady Assailant of Flames only let out a soundless gasp of pain as she was struck, the bolt burrowing deep into her chest. She doubled over and vanished into technological oblivion the moment she collided with the ground.

2000.

Unfortunately he knew all too well what his own monster was capable of. The final shot hit him directly and knocked him down. Yugi screamed his concern but it didn't register too clearly. Everything was swimming in his vision and all outside sounds seemed insubstantial. The last hit depleted his score and his Duel Disk vanished. He followed its journey into nothingness shortly thereafter.

Deirdre awoke what seemed to be mere seconds later, looking around his very own bedroom. It was dark and seemingly very late at night. Rubbing his pounding migraine he leaned over, ignoring the odd sensation of pain in his shoulder, and clicked on the lamp that sat at his bedside. His dueling deck, seemingly unaltered, sat in its plastic case like it always had. He picked it up and popped it open, then rummaged through each section, finding every card, as it should be, including Dark Necrofear and Toon World, the two cards he had won at Battle City. And Barrel Dragon, the card he handed over to Marik, was centered on the top of his deck.

However, he couldn't seem to locate his Duel Disk from his spot in bed. But when he stood to move, he found his legs did not respond to his commands. In fact they didn't even feel like they were there. If he couldn't plainly see them with his own two eyes he'd think they had been amputated.

Suddenly, the light in the hallway clicked on and creeped in from his half open door. Leaning against the wall near the door were a pair of foam- padded crutches.

"What is going on?" He whispered, then looked up when his reliable hinges creaked from old age and Skylar stepped in, covered in nasty purple bruises and a few bandaged cuts. It was at that moment when Deirdre felt the worse he had ever felt in his life. He remembered what Ahmose did when he took over and remembered Skylar being one of the first casualties of his onslaught.

She smiled at him faintly, then set down the bowl of soup she had been carrying on his night stand. "Hey, feeling any better?"

Deirdre didn't respond or even blink, he simply stared up at the ceiling from his laying down position on the bed and thought about all that he could, trying to make sense of it all. He remembered the final duel so clearly it was like he was still in it. But obviously he wasn't so one of the first questions that came to him was the outcome. Did Marik win? Did he claim the Millennium Puzzle and fulfill his goal to become pharaoh? Was everyone on Earth now a thrall to King Marik?

What happened to the monster he released? Where was his Millennium Item, the Balance? He couldn't seem to locate it either in ring form or otherwise, and the evil, conniving spirit inhabiting it wasn't speaking to him. How long had he been asleep, and how did he break both of his legs and honestly not be able to remember? Was the Battle City tournament over, and if so what was the outcome?

However, none of those problems seemed to trump Skylar's condition then. He had physically assaulted her and felt like his heart had been beaten with a meat tenderizer. She looked at him like he was out of his mind and turned to walk away, but was stopped when his arm reached out and took her by the shoulders, pulled her back and kissed her long and passionately on the lips. A move that neither of them had expected.

She was genually surprised and rightfully so, but after a second of second-guessing she let him embrace her. Deirdre spent the next few minutes making it all up to her as best he could.

Though eventually he did let her up for air but she didn't seem to want to be released. Deirdre set her down on his bed and comforted next to her, letting out a deep breath before he said anything. "I'm sorry...I'm so...so sorry, Sky. I didn't mean to do it."

She nodded and patted his back warmly, pressing his head against her shoulder so he could openly cry for the first time in years beyond remembrance. "_Shh_...it's okay. I don't blame you." Skylar waited a few minutes for Deirdre to stop, and at one point she think he had fallen asleep but he rolled over and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. She caught the look in his eyes that stated, "If you tell anyone I'll kill you" and let out a light chuckle.

Offering him one of her most reassuring smiles, she leaned back and cleared her throat. "So, I'll explain everything from the top. Get comfortable 'cause it might take awhile."

**_Author's Note:_** To whatever reader's I have left, this is the second-to-last chapter in my story so I hope you all enjoyed it. I know the big fight was a bit on the short side but I didn't think it needed to be stretched out over three or four chapters, and honestly I think that the connection with all the characters was more important then the duel. So flood me with all the hate reviews you want, I probably deserve them.

The next chapter will not take long so don't get too comfortable, I'm probably gonna screw that one up too.


	16. Interlude

**To All My Loyal Readers,**  
  
If any still exist. I have gotten a few random e-mails or reviews stating that people still want to see the ending to _Legend of the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon_ and that I've been a dick for not posting it. Well, soon I'll grant that request and post the last (maybe?) chapter in this story. With the upcoming movie, I think my passion for _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ will be restored and might even spawn the artistic drive for a sequel. Unfortunately, I do not get Kids WB anymore so I cannot see new episodes. On the up side, Cartoon Network is airing the Battle City tournament and will soon show all the episodes that I missed; I'll be able to catch up to the storyline again. Keep your fingers crossed that my writer's block doesn't flare up again.  
  
Yours truly, Lobo Kendo. 


	17. Ch 15: Treachery

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Treachery _

Yugi and Marik stared at one-another with all the intensity and sheer hatred they had developed over the last few weeks and the tension could have been cut with a knife. From Yugi's first encounter with a puppet Bandit Keith too this tremendous battle of skill, they had been at each others throat; one for peace and the other for war.

The air had grown thick but it wasn't from the anticipation. Two gigantic beasts of legend, made pseudo-flesh in the black oblivion of the Shadow Realm in which they occupied; It was the perfect staging field. There was nothing to get in the way or too interrupt this epic conflict.

A winding crimson serpent of colossal proportions eclipsed the backdrop behind Yugi, wrapping its neck in a cylindrical pattern just off too his right and burrowing proverbial holes in its foe with its shimmering eyes, liberating a roar from its "first" mouth that shook the foundation beneath their feet.

The second deity emanated light from its golden form like the sun, spreading a mile-long set of brilliant wings and then folding them like a cloak against its breast, raising its head up and lording over the area in a obvious attempt to one-up its godly rival. Slifer the Sky Dragon was no cardboard picture made holographic like other monsters and received that as a challenge, preparing itself and its owner with another terrible war cry. Marik and his beast were equally as prepared.

"Now Yami, are you ready to finish this close, personal humiliation once and for all or does your suffering need prolonging?" Marik chided, snaking out one of his caramel-colored arms too stroke the chin of his glorious dragon.

Yami Yugi nodded, lowering the hand holding his cards to rest on the nearly vacant panel of his Duel Disk. "Yes, I am. Today, your reign of terror comes to an end, Marik."

"Then make your move, pharaoh. If you think you can."

Yami Yugi thrust his outstretched finger forward, his teeth exposed in an animalistic snarl. "I can and will! Slifer, Thunderforce attack!"

Marik's opening gambit was symbolic of the power his rival shared and of that his monster commanded. His movements were identical too Yugi's. "Winged Dragon of Ra, annihilate him!"

The resulting assaults created a flare that lit up the blackness of the Shadow Realm brighter than any afternoon sky. Marik and Yugi felt a surge of shared power that caused their muscles to spasm and become like jelly. As the smoke cleared and the ashes raises, neither of the two Egyptian God monsters had been vanquished. The combatants, sworn enemies who would never yield or give ground too the other, were struggling to stand. They were effectively bowing, thought inadvertently, too one another.

If they could have formed a coherent thought through the agony that racked their bodies, they might have been ashamed.

…………

…………

"I don't know much about what happened after the—"

Skylar looked at Deirdre, who looked back at her with heavy, tired bags under his sky blue eyes and a complexion that was much more pasty than normal. She thought that any more bad news might put him into a coma but she was helpless against his seemingly unintended charm.

"—The incident, except what the nightly news has reported. They're passing off what happened at the café as a propane gas explosion. No one has said a word about you or anything you did."

"And the monster?" He asked half-heartedly.

She shrugged, obviously confused. " 'Dunno. Maybe this is, like, a government cover-up or something."

"Or maybe Marik rewired a few brains while I was out. Regardless," he droned on, almost as if growing uninterested, "it's probably for the best. I think something like that getting too the public would cause a national panic and I am just too freakin' tired to handle that right now."

Skylar rewound the conversation back to the beginning. "Marik? Who is Marik?"

Shaking his head to dismiss the question, Deirdre sank into deep thought, running through all the questions that plagued his mind. The location of the Millennium Balance for instance. He didn't have it anymore and found that a little more than strange. But something else came even before that and he figured that Skylar wound at least know about this if not any other.

"How did my legs break?" Deirdre asked, a diligent fear clutching his voice. He actively hid it so she wouldn't be worried by his stress any further.

"Oh, I don't think they are broken but one was dislocated and wrapped around the other." She explained, using her hands to elaborate. "You were beaten up bad when I found you but that...fire, or whatever, that was coming out of your ring was still all over you so I decided against taking you too the hospital and instead found a trashcan lid and dragged you home. The fire blew out about a block or so away from your house."

Skylar was smiling widely, seeing his immediate disapproval.

"So," he said with a customary frown that she had begun to associate with a impending scolding. "I could be fine?"

She nodded, blushing a bit.

"Sky, what did you want to be when you were growing up?"

Bringing her index fingernail to her teeth and nibbling on it thoughtfully, she whistled when the thought broke the surface. "A fashion designer. Duh."

"I would suggest a less 'people oriented' occupation."

Frowning, she folded her hands in her lap and pinned him with an angry glare. "Like what?"

Deirdre threw back the blanket covering his torso and flexed his toes experimentally. "I don't know...maybe a hermit."

Oddly enough, she seemed intrigued by his response but seeing that she actually was considering it he decided to drop the subject. He kicked his working but fairly numb and bruised legs over the edge of his bed. Smiling now that he knew he wouldn't be a cripple the rest of his life, he braced a hand on her shoulder and stood up, finding that he could walk but only with assistance and a sharp pain that jolted his knee with each step. "Sky, what is happening with the tournament now?"

That was a dreadful question that she was loath to answer, because she knew how much it meant to Deirdre that he make the cut. He had worked and fought so hard and deserved one of the coveted eight positions in the Battle City finals but because of a series of unfortunate circumstances he didn't get the chance too collect his last remaining locator card.

But what good would lying to him do? He'd just find out later and be bummed out then instead of now. He might as well just get it over with.

"Last time I checked, they had just finished the second match of the finals."

Deirdre stopped for a moment in his trek too the crutch leaning against the doorframe, sighing with obvious disappointment that he had been too late. He continued and picked up the crutches, adjusting the pegs to suit his height. He assumed they previously belonged too Skylar or a much shorter relative. "Well, I'll try again next year."

Smiling, Skylar stood up and placed her hands on his shoulders, hoping to calm down his boiling fury. She knew he was angry. He always got quiet and cool when he was most pissed off. Her gentle touch seemed to help though and his relaxing exhalation and the stiffness leaving his shoulders confirmed it.

Deirdre clicked the pegs on each crutch down several notches and tucked each tightly into his armpits. "Let's go back," he said, opening his bedroom door and taking a single hobbling step out.

"Back to where?" She asked, close behind.

"Back to where you found me. I gotta find my...wait a tic," he paused. "You said you found me with the ring on my hand, fire was coming out out it. What happened to it?"

With a guilty smile, Skylar tapped her left hip just below the waste and winked.

Deirdre sighed at her hesitance and reached into his left pocket mumbling under his breath, obviously restraining the surge of frustration-soaked curses tugging at his lips. After a moment, he produced the Millennium Balance in its compact, nondescript form and with a mere thought, transformed it into its true shape, that of a golden scale with two dishes dangling from chains and the gaudy, lidless eye standard of all Millennium Items adorning the base of it.

Effectively zoning out of the outside world, from all audible or physical contact, Deirdre focused on the object clutched in his hand alone, calling out too the double-crossing spirit which inhabited it. "Ahmose, we need too talk."

Feeling his stomach lurch as he entered another reality, though only that of his black, barren mindscape, he opened his eyes and was standing before the giant man known as Ahmose, ex-royal advisor to the pharaoh. His great python-like arms were crossed over his barrel chest and a wrinkled frown marred his face.

"_We have nothing too talk about, child."_

"I beg too differ. You betrayed me! You tried to kill hundreds of innocent people through me!" Deirdre exclaimed. "That was the worse part! You used me as your instrument of war!"

"_Sacrifices must be made for the greater good, I'm afraid. In this case, it was them_ and _you."_

"Well find yourself a new sacrifice, Ahmose. I'm done. I want this brain bond broken now and I want your balance chucked into the nearest lake!"

Ahmose shook his head, not just too say "no" but also too show his disappointment. _"Dear boy, I offered you so much power and so much prosperity and you throw it all away because a few meaningless lives were endangered!" _He roared, though Deirdre wasn't afraid and didn't flinch. _"You are a fool! I regret ever accepting you as my vassal!"_

"That makes two of us. Now get out of my head and out of my life."

Again, Ahmose shook his head. _"That is not possible at this point, young Deirdre. I still have business which much be finalized and I need your body too do it." _Ahmose tossed out his arms, which twisted and curled and altered too resemble snakes not just in width but in the literal sense as well.

One python wrapped around Deirdre's neck and immediately he reached up and grabbed on too it, fighting back its venomous bite. The other snake looped around his hand and pinned it too his chest, then doubled back and settled directly by his right ear, hissing and flicking out its tongue, tickling his cheek.

On the outside, Skylar was frantically screaming and trying to pry Deirdre's own hands away from his throat as he strangled himself, or so it looked. It also could have been mistaken for him trying to remove something strangling him though that possibility hadn't entered her mind.

"_Your role in this is over, child. I will commandeer your body now and begin my agenda."_

"Y-your...agenda?" Deirdre gasped, eyes watering as he struggling to breathe. "Wh-what agenda could a five-thousand year old consultant h-have—aargg!"

"_I must become what I believe I deserve. I must kill the pharaoh and take his place as king." _He grinned, revealing sharp, snakelike teeth. _"And you will be the one who deals the killing blow. But I could use a warm-up..."_

Skylar fell backwards and screamed as Deirdre, whose eyes were now lifeless and hollow, raised the solid gold Millennium Balance over his head and brought it down over her head. The night sky was completely black and moonless as rain and thunder echoed above. Lightening crashed and Yami Deirdre stepped out the front door of his home, sans crutches, and limped through the rain and towards his destination.


	18. Ch 16: Esprit Sur Le Feu

**Chapter Sixteen**

_Esprit Sur Le Feu_

Skylar awoke with a gasp and her body shuttering, expelling a wet cough followed by a terrible hacking. She found she was unable to move, but could still look around through eyes crusted over with dried blood. She heard sirens and people were swarming around her, everyone saying some stupid and obvious thing like "don't move!" or "does it hurt?" and if she could she'd tell them all to blow off, quite uncharacteristic of her but at the moment Skylar wasn't in the kind and caring mood. She was angry. In fact she was furious. Deirdre had betrayed her...no, he wouldn't. He was her best friend regardless of the short time they had known each other. It was something else. Deirdre even said that someone, or something, a five thousand year old...? She couldn't remember...her head hurt so much...

Now the severity of the situation kicked in. Tears stung her eyes as she tried to ignore the badgering crowd and the approaching sirens to focus on what she did that would make him hate her so much. What would drive someone to just spontaneously try to kill you?

"_That's it,"_ she thought, closing her eyes to shut off the flow of tears. _"It wasn't him, it was someone else making him do it. Deirdre...he needs my help."_

A younger man, early twenties, was kneeling down at Skylar's side, apparently checking her for injuries or possibly groaping her in her weakened state. Regardless, her trembling hand suddenly gained unfathomable strength and shot up like a rocket, grabbing the man by his shoulder and using it as a brace to hoist herself back on her feet. Even the people who were around just for the show started to scream at her, telling her to stay still but she ignored them and lifted herself up to her knees. From there, the man whom she was leaning on grabbed her arm to steady her, and she wobbled too her feet.

"Miss! Are you going to be all right? You really should stay down, I mean you've suffered head trau--"

Skylar's other hand lurched out and took the man by his shirt collar. She leveled with him at nose-point, burrowing holes into him with her crimson gaze. "Wh-where...where are the Battle City finals being held at?"

The man, fearing for his life now, shook his head. "No one knows, miss. The broadcast just aires on KCTV and some of the news channels even say that its signal can't be traced."

Skylar frowned and shook her head, releasing the man and turning away, pushing through the mob with a level of physical might that only someone in her frame of mind could possess. "I'll find it...myself..."

An ambulance then pulled up and two men hopped out, dashing right by Skylar and making their way through the crowd. Only when someone told them that the injured girl had just gotten up and walked off did they look back in the direction, which she had just left. Skylar was nowhere to be seen.

…………

…………

The Battle City finale was coming up on its conclusion. The last battle, featuring the formidable combination of Mai Valentine, the seductive showstress, and Marik, the completely insane possessor of the Millennium Rod. Those events climaxed with Marik winning decisively through use of evil magic and trickery. He annihilated his opponent and sentenced her to a eternity of torture within the Shadow Realm. Her physical body lay comatose in a hospital bed onboard Seto Kaiba's KCTV broadcasting blimp.

Whether or not her mind could be rescued at this point was unknown. Her closest friends (and consequently her only friends) Joey, Téa, Tristan, Duke, Yugi (currently manifested in his more easily antagonized and more protective form), Serenity, and an equally injured and unconscious Bakura in a separate bed a few feet away. Even Kaiba was in the room, brooding by the door, not so much afraid for Mai's safety but the majority of the competitors in his greatly invested tournament we're there and he had to protect that investment. Of course, wherever his big brother went, Mokuba did too. He was, as always, loyally at Seto's side.

"So Yug, you can...ya know, 'fix' her, right?" Joey asked innocently, looking at his immediate right to Yami Yugi.

Expelling a deep, sorrowful breath, Yami Yugi shook his head mournfully. "I do not know, Joey. I can and will try, but at this point, with Marik still onboard and exerting a level of control over her confinement within the Shadow Realm, I doubt anything I tried would be effective."

"Sounds like a white flag if I ever heard one." Duke commented, kneeling down at Mai's bedside.

"He isn't giving up!" Téa shouted, stomping her foot. That caused a fairly startled reaction from Duke but he didn't say anything. "He said he'd try and we can't ask any more of him!"

"And while you're all here crying over spilt milk," Seto began, a grin creeping across his long face, "I still have a tournament to finish. So if you wouldn't all mind moving back to the roulette room we can get this thing back on schedule. Nothing short of this ship being shot down will stop my tournament!"

"Glad too see your spirits haven't been dampened by this tragedy, Kaiba." Joey said, not looking at his most hated nemesis, instead keeping a stern lookout for any change in Mai's condition.

"Once again I'm the only person here who can see the pointlessness of sitting around and bawling like little children. Now if you don't get up and move to the roulette room I'll disqualify you all and declare myself the winner by default!"

Joey's teeth grinded so hard they nearly shattered. He shot too his feet, stormed over to Kaiba and jammed his finger into his chest. "I swear you are the most heartless and disgusting son-of-a-bi--"

Yugi gasped and rose to his feet slowly. The others looked at him curiously and asked what the problem was but he didn't respond. Joey continued to rip into Kaiba, unaware of Yugi's well-known and well-respected expression of impending doom. "Excuse me, everyone." He said calmly, his eyes narrowing a bit. "I must go...check something out." Spinning on his heel Yami Yugi exited the room, causing a concerned question from Joey. He responded with a simple hand gesture and then was gone from sight.

…………

…………

Marik's face twisted into a sinister sneer as he stood glaring out of the window in his guest room. Rain streaked the glass, adding an even more threatening expression when seen in conjunction with his reflection. "Ah, come back at last have we my wandering sheep? Good, I think I could make better use out of your wonderful artifact than you ever could." Marik cackled and turned around, briskly stepping out of his room and vanishing down the corridor.

…………

…………

Yugi ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the winding passageways of the blimp, dodging frantically by a few butlers and maids without so much as an apology when he nearly sent them sprawling. Finally he reached his destination, the door that led up to the top of the blimp where the holographic arena was situated. He climbed up the short set of stairs and threw open the attic-style double doors.

He stepped out and held up his forearm to shield his face from the stinging rain, searching for the ancient presence he felt back in the infirmary. He saw nothing but heard behind him a slow, methodical approach. He turned and saw the wild silver hair of his greatest foe, Marik, enter into the storm.

"Marik! What are you doing up here?" Yugi then stopped, realizing that he knew the answer to his question. "You felt it too?"

He smiled and nodded, looking directly up into the bleak thunderclouds, closing his eyes as if gaining some sick pleasure from the bullet-like rain. "Oh yes, pharoah, it is unmistakable. A Millennium Item always gives off a powerful energy that I can sense for miles." He frowned and looked back down at Yugi. "Strange that I only just sensed it recently..."

"That is because I chose to mask it." Another voice said, some distance away and balancing precariously on the slippery edge of the blimp, but apparently having no difficulty in keeping his footing. Deirdre, or more specifically Ahmose controlling Deirdre, walked forward slowly and menacingly, nothing but a blank drawl on his weatherworn face. Yami Deirdre slowly lifted up his right hand, which adorned the beautifully sumptuous Millennium Balance and pointed it towards Marik. The scales tipped slowly left as if something had been placed in it. "A grim future indeed." He commented, then swung the Balance over in Yugi's direction, this time the weights leveled off in the center, favoring neither direction. "Yours is harder to determine...which is good, means it will be more of a surprise to see how it unfolds."

Yami Deirdre continued to walk forward until he was in a triangular formation with the other too. Each one eyed the other, no one trusting that some potentially fatal strike could be made.

Each of them possessed the means to do as such, and each knew it.

"I declare a Shadow Game." Yami Deirdre announced, his eyes darting back and forth between his two adversaries. "Either of you can go first, it matters not, but regardless the loser must hand over their Millennium Item as a prize. That winner will then go on to face the remaining person, and whomever wins that match will claim all three and be that much closer to ultimate power."

"I accept." Marik said immediately, knowing a good opportunity when he heard it.

"I do not." Yugi said. "I have more important matters to attend to now then this petty bid for power."

Marik chuckled and shook his Rod at Yugi like he was scolding a child. "If that is the case I will encourage your participation, pharoah. If you do not accept the challenge I will make it utterly impossible for you to recover Ms. Valentine's mind from the Shadow Realm. I'll reduce it to dust and you'll be left with nothing but an empty husk lying forever in a hospital bed."

Yugi snarled, in a truly animalistic fashion, and began to squeeze his hands together imagining that Marik's neck was in his grasp. He shot his head at Deirdre, who remained stone cold and stoic through it all. Yugi turned back to Marik and nodded slowly, his hair slowly being weighed down by the water soaking into it. "You have no honor Marik, but very well."

"Excellent." Yami Deirdre said with hard-nosed delight. "Who wants to be my first victim?"

"I will be your first _opponent_." Yugi corrected, not caring that Marik was about to volunteer but cut him off. "And once I am finished with you I'll make sure that Deirdre is freed from your stranglehold."

Internally, Ahmose laughed aloud, knowing that the original host of this body was likely beyond salvation at this point. Pulling Deirdre out of the depths of his mental prison now would be nearly impossible. Still, the pharoah was known for doing just that and being over-confident could lead to his downfall. He knew Yugi was good, in fact he was excellent, _unbeatable_ even, and it would be a truly titanic battle.

"_If I am too win, I must use every ability at my disposal."_ Ahmose grew stern and serious again, eyeing his opponent. _"I know you, Yugi. You'll try everything in your power to free Deirdre from my control during the fight, just as a means to get yourself off the hook and be spared a crushing defeat. Well, it won't work...I won't let it. I'll dig Deirdre's mind out of the depths and kill him with my bare hands if I have too but you won't break through to him!"_

"Let's duel!" Yami Deirdre blurted and began to walk past the two, bumping purposely against Marik's shoulder as he did, and approached his side of the dueling platform. Behind him, Yugi took his position as well while Marik, now a bit peeved, kept a murderous snarl on his face as he strided down into the spectators box.

When both players were on the sensors, the arena hummed to life and the Life Point counters reset to 4000. Yugi's held up the arm which his Duel Disk was strapped to and activated the card panel, popping his deck out of his rear pants pocket and slipping it into the deck slot.

Yami Deirdre's Millennium Balance began to take on a soft golden glow and slimmed down into its compact ring state. He held up his other arm, which now adorned a Duel Disk as where it did not before, and did the same, activating the panel and pushing his newly revamped deck into the reader.

"Ready?" Deirdre mocked, taking a crouched, battle-ready stance.

"I think you'll be regretting his decision when I'm finished, Ahmose." Yugi shot back and drew his starting hand, then an extra one for the beginning of his turn phase. "I play two cards face down," he said almost immediately, lifting them from his hand and slipping them into two of the five available magic or trap slots. "And I also play Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode!" Materializing from an array of shimmering pixels, an armor-clad being wielding a sharp sword and sharper ears appeared, using a quick swat with his available hand to dispurse the cloak off of his shoulder. 1400/1200

"That'll end my turn."

"Good. And that'll likely be the best you can manage this duel." Deirdre slipped a card from his deck and looked at it, allowing a faint grin to creep through the defenses of his normally stoic expression. "I place one card face down and summon Raging Flame Sprite in attack mode!" Coming up from the sleek surface of the field like it was surfacing from water, a candle appeared. The candle flickered for a moment before exploding into a towering inferno from which a small being wearing a wide-brimmed hat emerged. He cackled and wringed his hands together in anticipation for battle. The fire and the candle from which it was produced vanished back into digital nothingness. 100/200

"Flame Sprite attack Yugi directly!"

The little monster snickered and leapt forward, bouncing several times in place before taking high into the air and spitting out a little orb of flame, which struck Yugi square in the heart. He cringed but stood his ground, looking angrily up at the creature as it bounded back to its masters side of the field.

Yugi's life points dropped a mere one hundred points, from 4000 to 3900, but that wasn't the impressive part. Yugi watched with some measure of uncertainty as the little beasts' attack points shot up by a whole one thousand points. Yugi's face showed plenty of shock, enough to cause Yami Deirdre a quick fit of laughter.

"And it'll do that every time I attack, pharoah! Within four turns I can have you beaten and I'll make sure that I do!" Deirdre's monster seemed to share his enthusiasm.

"You seem to forget that I have a monster with quite a bit more attack power than yours just itching to put your Pyro monster in its place, Ahmose!" Yugi quickly snatched the card afforded to him on his new turn and thrust out his extended finger towards the Flame Sprite. "Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, sword slam attack!"

Yugi's elf smiled and readied his blade, dashing forward and taking to the air, prepared to bisect the miniscule Sprite. Deirdre's confident expression seemed to give Yugi immediate doubts about the successfulness of this move.

"Activate trap! Blaze Barrier!" Yami Deirdre's face-down trap rose up, revealing itself as a powerful defensive wall. A huge pillar of fire erupted from the ground and knocked the Celtic Guardian right out of the sky, sending him spiraling back down to Yugi's side of the field, even dislodging the sword from his grasp. "And that'll happen every time, pharoah! No monster without sixteen hundred attack points or more can break through my Blaze Barrier. And as an added bonus, no magic or trap card can dispel it! Only powerful monsters can defeat my fiery defense!"

"_Four more turns, pharoah,"_ Ahmose gleefully thought. _"Just four more turns before I claim your mantle as king and begin my ascention. I hope you're ready, because soon you'll end up just like poor little Deirdre!"_

…………

…………

At the bottom of a seemingly endless tunnel, sort of like he had been thrown down a well and the mouth had been sealed off, Deirdre lay unconscious and naked, not only defeated in body but also in mind. He could barely think, he had almost no reasoning power, and he could not move; he didn't possess the abilities needed to perceive his surroundings. He knew it was cold and that was all. He knew that before he lost the ability to see and feel, he killed his best friend even though he himself didn't remember dealing the blow. He was in such a fragile state that even trying to remember what might have occurred seemed like an unreachable goal. He strained, and outward his body quivered as he put in all the strength he had remaining to focus on one particular event..._the hostile takeover_.

And that was enough to give him a name with which to direct his voice. "Ah...mose...let me...go..."

He heard no reply and asked again.

"Ah...mose...let me go."

Again. Silence.

"Ahmose! LET ME GO!"

Then he heard laughter. Harsh, contemptful laughter. Apparently this time he was on his own.


	19. Ch 17: Heroes' Rescue

**Chapter Seventeen**

_Heroes' Rescue pt. 1_

"You're nothing but another overly confident tyrant to me, Ahmose!" Yami Yugi shouted, jabbing his finger at his opponent; his ancient advisor housed in the stolen body of a young boy. He blew a lock of sagging wet hair away from his eyes. "I will free Deirdre from the prison you've caged him in, and then I'll make you pay for these transgressions!"

Ahmose snickered and held up his hand, waving it down as if dismissing his foe as nothing but a bothersome fly. Though the two were several meters away from each other, Yugi's extended finger was forced back down to his side; the unseen influence exerted upon him left him little choice. Yugi was not intimidated by Ahmose's showboating telekinesis and snapped his hand to his deck, drawing a new card and placing it into his hand. "You'll take me seriously soon enough."

"I doubt it, pharaoh." Ahmose said as lackadaisical as ever and raised his head to the sky, smiling as the sharp rain speared down on him, his foe, and their maniacal spectator, Marik. "But you've surprised me once before with something much more…extreme, so I wouldn't expect anything less than the most _unexpected_ thing possible from you."

Yugi looked over his hand and then on the field to review his current standing: One monster, the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and two face down cards. He'd need something stronger than what he currently had on the field to defeat Ahmose's powerful Blaze Barrier trap card. _"Or will I?" _He said thoughtfully and grinned slightly. _"Still, it is the chance for an early lead and I'll make sure his prediction of 'four turns' is washed away, along with any chance he has of defeating me."_

"I sacrifice my Celtic Guardian and summon Dark Magician Girl to the field!" Yugi thumbed away his sharp-eyed swordsman and slapped down his new monster, a sparsely glad sorceress who swirled to the field from a portal or rising pixels and smiled warmly to Ahmose's diminutive Raging Flame Sprite. The pharaoh's monster blew a kiss and waved alluringly, causing the Sprite to blush before clearing its throat and regaining its composure. 2000/1700

Ahmose, though knowing that this monster was capable of bypassing the barrier and destroying his monster, didn't seem worried.

"Dark Magician Girl, attack and destroy the Flame Sprite!" With a gleeful hoot and a spin of her staff, thrust forward her weapon and blasted the little beast with a colorless ray of energy that lifted the creature off its feet and without even a howl to signal its end, was obliterated. Ahmose's life points plummeted from 4000 to 2100.

"Good pharaoh, but I'm not intimidated."

"Oh, but you should be, Ahmose! I activate the trap card Lingering Spirit Strike!" The Dark Magician Girl pirouetted back to Yugi's side of the field and held out her arms, issuing from her body the incorporeal image of Yugi's fallen Celtic Guardian. He raised his sword high and slashed again at Ahmose, who howled and fell back on his rear, snarling at Yugi as he rose up on his knees. In disbelief he looked at his life point meter, which was now at a startlingly low 700.

From the audience booth below the holographic stadium, Marik burst into hysterics, banging his fist against the rafters and even wiping a tear from his eye, which was followed by a hazy doppelganger that distended from his face; Marik's gruesome true self barely being kept contained within. "Oh Ahmose, this is pathetic! I expected more from you, something that would actually make it seem like you deserved that Millennium Item adorning your ungrateful hand! You're nothing except a bag of hot air!"

Ahmose gritted his teeth and glared over the platform into Marik's eyes. Marik seized up like a board and his skin grew pale and flaky. He rocked back and was struck from the side by a strong gust of wind, sending him toppling motionless to the ground with a splash. Even his hair remained straight and pointed, the rain running off his impermeable body, his eyes staring vacantly at the metal actuators beneath the dueling arena.

Yugi grinned and looked back at his rival with indifference. "I can't say I approve of your methods but I certainly must congratulate your accomplishment. I've often wondered how to silence Marik and, well, now I know." He said with a chuckle, gesturing down at his statue-like adversary.

"Be quiet!" Ahmose shouted, raising back to his feet and clenching his fists angrily. "You're not going to make a fool of me any longer, pharaoh! You did that more than enough all those years ago!" Ahmose's eyes grew so intense and bloodthirsty and the true Yugi, who was watching all of Yami's actions through his magically aged gaze, shivered, and his emotion visibly transferred to the pharaoh. "I've sat in darkness and silence in this accursed paperweight for far too long, destroying myself for being made a fool of by you, by following you and worshipping you like you were a god!" The Millennium Balance transformed back into its true state and Ahmose began to ring his hands around the base of it, imaging the pharaoh's neck was in his iron grasp.

"You can bear a grudge with me all you'd like Ahmose, but that doesn't mean anything to me. I don't remember any of my past, certainly not some indignity I committed against one specific person." He made a gesture that signaled for his opponent to draw his next card, and begrudgingly he directed his hand to his deck after the second it took to remake his Balance into a golden band, but stopped short. "Is something wrong, Ahmose? All of a sudden you're not in the mood to continue this Shadow Game?"

"No…" Ahmose drawled and ejected his deck. Yugi's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to protest but his opponent stopped him short with a simple raised palm. "Silence yourself, pharaoh. I'm making the rules now and I choose to alter the conditions of his duel by switching out my deck." He slipped Deirdre's deck into the side pocket of the bronze bomber jacket he wore and produced another, slightly thicker one. "I was overconfident, I see that now, but honor and dignity mean nothing too me at this point. I've waiting so long for my revenge that the means I use to accomplish it are inconsequential. I will beat you," he snarled and made a stationary lunge, causing the pharaoh to inch back a step. "I will _annihilate_ you! And I'll do it under my own terms! Nothing but this feeble child's image will remind you of him now!" Ahmose folded his hand and shoved it into Deirdre's pocket as well. The only card that was still in play was Blaze Barrier, and that didn't seem to be as effective as it was originally intended to be. It even looked weak, visibly nothing but a linear molten line which let out small puffs of smoke whenever a drop of rain struck it. He then drew a fresh five-card hand and a sixth for his starting phase and snickered, peering over the top of them so only his vacant eyes were visible. "You are welcome to object again, pharaoh, but I doubt I'll listen."

"I have no further objections, Ahmose." Yugi replied and crossed his arms in disinterest. "You obviously don't care about the rules and regulations, no surprise there, so I'll just beat you like I planned too from the start and then your defeat will be that much more humiliating."

"I'm far from intimidated, pharaoh! I place one card on the field and summon Shadowknight Archfiend in attack mode!"

A black arcane disk appeared on the field, the border of it being looped by glowing runes, and from it a pair of huge bat-like wings emerged, followed by a hideous monster with long dark purple hair, skeletal features and two devilish weapons on each hand: A thick, wickedly sharp sword and a four-clawed gauntlet. The beast landed with a thud and rose to its full height, which towered over Yugi's Dark Magician Girl. 2000/1600

"And because I cannot afford by monster's costly price, I activate Pandemonium!" The side slot on Ahmose's duel disk flipped open and he slipped a card into it. Sparking like a multicolored wildfire, the arena was bathed in a misty haze that kept Ahmose's life points untouched.

"Now my great beast! Give your life for me by attacking Yugi's monster with your Satan Sword Slam!" A single beat of its wings propelled the beast into the air and another sent it soaring towards Yugi's Dark Magician Girl, its dual weapons at the ready. The sorceress didn't seem afraid and raised up her staff, ready to take him out as well. Yugi, however, had a different plan in mind.

"Activate Kishido Spirit!"

Ahmose screamed in frustration and pulled his hair as a cloud in the shape of a armored man appeared and withstood the Shadowknight's blow. After one or two additional slashes of rage from Ahmose's monster, who was as aggravated and vengeful as he, gave up with a huff and returned to its proper side of the playing field.

The pharaoh laughed and began to fuss with the cards in his hand, an uncaring gesture that further helped to antagonize his opponent. "If you didn't know, Kishido Spirit prevents my monsters from being destroyed by my opponent's monsters as long as they both have equal attack scores. Sorry Ahmose, but you've been shot down again." Yugi grinned and held out his arm, flipping down his thumb as the old emperor's of Greece did when they were displeased with a gladiator's performance.

"H-how did you…?" He shook his head and thrust a additional card into the card reader. "Come at me, pharaoh!" He hissed and beat his fists against his chest like an ape, sending a tidal wave of absorbed water spraying to the ground. "I'm ready!"

"I sincerely doubt that, Ahmose. Look at you; you're so furious you can't think rationally. If you keep acting like this I'll have you beaten by my next turn." Yugi drew another card and smiled. "And as it stands right now I think I can accomplish just that. I set this down," Yugi said as confident as ever, "and play Monster Reborn, bringing my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian back from the graveyard!" Again, Yugi's stalwart swordsman appeared and took up a confident stance against the much stronger Shadowknight Archfiend. "And then I sacrifice both my Celtic Guardian and my Dark Magician Girl to summon the Dark Magician of Chaos in attack mode!"

The ancient viziers rage was fueled further as he watched Yugi's stoic sorcerer jump onto the field from a rippling portal above their heads, landing with a sturdy pose on one knee, his fist bracing against the impact and his other hand lightly holding his magically infused baton. The tremendously powerful creature sighed deeply and looked up, a simple gesture that stunned Ahmose's Archfiend and causing it to step back from its awesome might. With a small crook of his mouth and a wink, the magician rose to his feet and crossed his staff over his chest. 2800/2600

"Ready?" Yugi said mockingly. "This is the end of the line, Ahmose!"

Ahmose didn't respond, just stood his ground so visibly infuriated that he couldn't even speak.

"Dark Magician of Chaos! Mystic Scepter Blast!"

"NO! Wait Yami!" A voice called from within the pharaoh. Yami stopped the attack and looked to the corner of his vision, as if his younger counterpart was right beside him. "Yugi? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, something is wrong! We can't beat Ahmose just yet. Deirdre is still trapped within the Millennium Balance. If he's beaten he might retreat back into the item and from there we'll never be able to reach either him or Deirdre." The two materialized in a dark and spacious room, the pharaoh was facing away from his young protégé simply staring out into the infinite expanse before him. "But right now he isn't even focused on Deirdre, his mind is so filled with hatred and anger that Deirdre might be easily rescued if I can sneak into his mind!"

The pharaoh turned around and looked at Yugi with surprise on his face. "_You? _Alone? Yugi, that is senselessly dangerous. Inside of Ahmose's mind he has all the power. He could destroy you with but a thought and I couldn't do a thing to protect you. It is, fortunately, not a risk I am willing to take."

"But Yami I am." He said touching his chest, giving Yami the wide-eyed look of innocence that proved to him just how powerful and yet still so young his host was. "I won't let Deirdre just be left to rot inside of that nut job's head." He stepped closer to the pharaoh and took his hands in his, smiling up at the wiser man with a incredible amount of courage and self-confidence that he couldn't help but smile back, as always surprised with what the boy was capable of. "If you just keep him busy and don't deal the final blow until I get back I can coax Deirdre out of there and give him enough strength to take back his body."

"And what if you can't? Stalling is not something I can do forever. Eventually Ahmose will get suspicious or he'll get the upper hand. Either way it might prove disastrous."

Yugi sighed and crossed his arms, mocking the pharaoh's usual disposition. "Geez Yami, have some faith."

Yami threw back his head and laughed, rubbing Yugi's hair lovingly. "I have all the faith in the world that you would be successful, my friend." The two stared into each others eyes for several long moments, analyzing the other, searching for any gap in the other that would help to change either's mind. Finally, the pharaoh gave in. "All right Yugi. I'll make the transfer in a moment, so get ready. It'll be a rough trip."

Yugi nodded and the two returned to the duel; though they had mentally been away several minutes talking, no actual time had passed by. "Dark Magician, stop your attack! I want to prolong this experience!" Yami stared holes into his opponent; Rain assaulted them both mercilessly, lightning crashed overhead, the occasional powerful gust of wind threatened to send one tumbling off the edge of the blimp, and most importantly the tension between the two completed a emotional setting usually only seen in Hollywood. "All right," Yami said enthusiastically and plucked another card from his hand, slipping it into one of the available magic and trap slots on his Disk. "I play this card and then switch my Dark Magician of Chaos into defense mode." He grinned and waved a hand at Ahmose, dismissing anything he did as pointless. "You're move."

"What is this, pharaoh?" Deirdre's tormentor said with a raised eyebrow. "Trying to mock me? Trying to provoke me by drawing out this battle and insulting me with your little tricks and games?" He seethed, his hand clenching the cards in his hand, crinkling the paper-like material. "You think I'm a fool, pharaoh? You think you an just ridicule me and win this duel not only effortlessly but after treating me like a child? How _dare_ you! How dare you make me look like an idiot!"

"I'm not making you look like anything, Ahmose. You're doing that just fine all by yourself."

"SHUT UP! You write me off to early, pharaoh! I may be behind now but I can and will come back and then you'll be kicking yourself for not finishing me when you had the chance!"

Yami nodded and grabbed the chain connecting his Millennium Puzzle around his neck and held it out away from his chest. "Well I don't want you too feel like I have a unfair advantage, Ahmose. In fact I'll even help you to win. Here." The pharaoh lowered his head and pulled the item off his neck, gathering up the chain in his hand, holding it up so Ahmose could clearly see it. "You aren't using your Millennium Balance, at least not against me—" Yami grinned and peered briefly down at the still immobile Marik, "—so I won't either. Just to show my good sportsmanship, of course." With a grin he gathered all the length of chain and the golden pyramid in his right hand and hurled it toward the center of the field. In mid-air, when the ornate eye gyrated to face Yami (and away from his foe's weary gaze), the object shimmered like a sun and transported Yugi into the realm within Ahmose's warped mind via a invisible beam that not even the pharaoh could see. He just hoped the trip went as planned. Sending a living spirit into someone's else wasn't often attempted and he wasn't entirely sure how successful it would be.

"_I hope Yugi made it there safely," _he thought somberly and tried his hardest to focus on the duel.

…………

…………

With a yelp and a hard crash, Yugi fell face first onto the cobblestone pathway that made up the massive indoor edifice within the Millennium Balance. His mouth dropped open as he stared straight up at the endlessly ascending levels connected by a single spiraling stairway that climbed upward and had no visible end. It wasn't like the impossibly challenging enigma that the pharaoh's mind was, this was very straightforward and the concept was simple. But Yugi was stunned, or some reason he believed this would be a simple trip in and out with Deirdre in tow but considering just how sadistic the ancient spirit was, Deirdre was probably either on the first floor, first door, or on the highest level at the furthest door. Either way, it was viciously intelligent; Almost like Ahmose he had anticipated an assault on his mind.

Each floor was rectangular and a dozen or more doors lined the walls no more than a foot or two apart from the next. The only place where the pattern of doors broke was when the staircase that led up to the next floor began, and then the arrangement started all over again.

Yugi sighed and brushed back his hair as he rose to his feet. "I hope there is a directory around here somewhere."

"A directory? What do you think this is, a shopping mall?" A hoarse, but young-sounding voice said directly behind Yugi. Haunted sounds of grinding earth accompanied it.

He stiffened up and started to breathe harder. He turned around slowly and peered over his shoulder, and was quite surprised by what he saw but certainly no longer afraid. It was one of Deirdre's favorite cards in a much more lively and talkative form. It was the Flame Champion, his large kite-shaped shield leaning against the wall and his sword, blade down, was being spun with quick snaps of his wrist drilling a shallow hole in the stone beneath his armor-glad feet. "I may not be as forward as a 'directory' but I might be as helpful. You're here to rescue my friend, correct?"

Yugi tilted his head to the side not unlike a puppy does when they see something odd for the first time. But it certainly wasn't a new experience as he had been face-to-face with his favorite monster, the Dark Magician, once before with the assistance of Shadi. And at this point, it seemed like he could use whatever help he could get. "Uhh…y-yeah…do you know where he is?"

"Of course I do!" He said happily, the tarnished gilded joints clanking together as he gestured wildly. "But I cannot get in there. That large man with the serpent tattoo sealed the mouth of the pit with some kind of a invisible layer." The Flame Champion sighed sorrowfully, letting his arms droop to his sides. "You know, I don't blame Deirdre." He said with a soul-searching smile, then when he saw the expression of confusion on Yugi's face he clarified. "For losing me in that duel, I mean. When that insane white-haired man took me. I do not blame him. I know he still appreciates me, that I'm still his favorite card. But I really haven't been able to talk to him lately now that he's had this other person in his head, whispering all those words…"

Yugi remembered that duel as well and looked at the monster with pity, feeling sorry that he was so upset about the loss of his friend. "Umm…Mr. Flame Champion?"

"Call me 'Lancelot'. Deirdre does."

Yugi grinned and nodded. 'Okay, Lancelot. Maybe I can help you get Deirdre out of here. Can you lead me to him without us getting caught by the man with the serpent tattoo?"

Lancelot nodded with a smile that seemed like he finally had a hope of regaining his friend. He hefted up his sword and shield, jabbing the blade of his weapon in the direction of the staircase with a cry of battle. "C'mon, my short friend! Let us go save Deirdre!"

…………

…………

Skylar's search led her on a late night hike throughout the entire length and breadth of the city, each time she passed by a person who didn't look like a thief, a murderer, or a rapist she asked them where the Battle City finals were being held. After all, a bloodied and tired girl was the worst kind to lie too and even the most unscrupulous of thugs she asked begrudgingly told her what they knew. Word on the street was the semi-finals were being held on a airship on its way to some undisclosed location on a island far from the shores of Domino.

Over an hour past before Skylar, now barely able to stand, came to the border of the city atop a grassy hill that spanned out into the dark empty highway that led to any number of other cities, but none within walking distance. Skylar climbed to the top of the hill and sat down against the back of the city limits billboard. She closed her eyes and was plenty ready to just give up on her search and fall asleep right there.

"_Why do I care?" _She asked herself again, for what had to have been the millionth time sense she began her trek. Internally, she could not explain it. It seemed more than just simple friendship. Deirdre was a good friend but he wasn't that damn good to warrant such a commitment from her. She hated to admit it for it made her feel like a bad person but no one else she knew from her shallow pool of buddies was so exceptional that could make her try this hard. In fact, the friends she did have were the popular cheerleaders and the valley girls who only major concerns in life were what color mascara to wear on Monday with a blouse that was meant for Tuesday. None of them could handle the kind of physical and mental abuse Skylar had endured in the last few days; before that, she wouldn't have believed she could have either.

She looked up at the sky, soaking in the cool drizzle that she had mostly ignored for the last couple of hours patter down on her face. At least she could be grateful for this as the rain had washed off most of the blood a while ago and made her appear human and even pretty darn clean at passing glance. And the kicker? She was wearing designer pants right now. That made her smile, for it reminded her that the situation was not so dire that she couldn't allow in some humor.

Her eyes closed again and she was nearly asleep when she felt the rain stop and she opened her eyes to see why her luck had changed so suddenly. However, the rain hadn't stopped. Someone was standing over her with an umbrella. "Thought you might find more use for this thing than I could."

Skylar looked at the young man with surprise and was silent for a moment until she could place the face to the name she was struggling to recall. "Espa, right? Espa Roba?"

The silver-haired boy grinned and nodded. "I see my reputation precedes me. It is good to see you again too, miss. Though you must excuse me, we were never properly introduced so your name escapes me."

She held out her hand a bit uncaringly and they shook. "Lucky."

The expression on his face told her that he wasn't sure if she was being serious or not. He smoothed a lock of wayward hair that had been plastered over his left eye back to its proper place on his head. "You must be. It looks like you've had a good time tonight; you look terrible, just so you know." He gestured to the spot beside her and when he got the O.K. he took a seat on the drenched grass. "I wish I could see that sort of excitement. The most exciting thing I see nowadays is when one of my brothers brings home a bad grade."

"Well if we are going to compare sob stories I think you have it worse. I'm just miserable now," she said keeping her eyes away from meeting his. "You've had it tough all your life what with taking care of your whole family by yourself and all. So don't worry about me Espa, I'll be all right."

He nodded in understanding. "You're right, I have had it pretty hard and for a long time but one of the things I've come to learn is that just because I have to struggle doesn't mean I should hold a grudge against others who don't. I can manage just fine and I'll continue to do so. But if I just walked by you knowing I could help but didn't, would me taking care of my brothers by myself make me any less of a bad, inconsiderate person?"

Skylar looked up at him rather taken aback by his words. "So, what you're saying is that just because you don't think it is fair that you have to work harder doesn't mean it would be any less fair to ignore another in need? Wow, that's…mature."

"I try." He grinned and looked up at the sky, his previous smile diminishing slightly. "I wish I could have gotten on that blimp."

She nodded and looked up as well, and after a moment saw a distant twinkle in the night sky, which could have been any number of things, but she firmly wanted to believe that it was the spotlights from the KCTV blimp. And even better, Deirdre trying to let her see that he was all right. "I hope he's okay."

"Why wouldn't he be?" Espa said while tucking in his leg, which had been out of the shield that the umbrella provided against the storm. "He's in the best of hands, after all. I can't say I know any of them very well but I do know that they would do anything in their power to help a person in need. You're boyfriend isn't the exception."

Skylar looked at him with newly found contempt and weakly slugged his thigh. Still, it was enough to cause him to cringe and rub it until the sensation went away. "He isn't my boyfriend. He's a boy and he's a friend but he's not my boyfriend."

"Yeah, sure Lucky. Regardless, don't worry too much about it, and stop beating yourself up over it. He'll be back down here and with you before you know it."

She sighed and nodded, then looked at him with her usual expression of caring and devotion that had recently been overshadowed with anger and misplaced determination. "Thank you, Espa. I will wait. But in the meantime," she arched her back in order to get into her back pants pocket and produced her plastic-wrapped deck. "Wanna duel?"

Espa smiled and shook his head. "Sorry, but I didn't bring my duel disk."

"Well neither did I silly, but you know this game was table-top long before Kaiba made any of those fancy-schmancy inventions. Still remember how?"

"Of course." He fished his own deck out of his jacket and they sat down across from each other, under the partial protection of the umbrella and began to duel.

…………

…………

"I'm taking control of this battle, pharaoh! Then your power, your livelihood, even your friends, will bow before me as I once did for you! I'll own them all!"

Yami bit his lip, suddenly having a difficult time keeping his bluff in check; if there was one thing that got his blood boiling it was when someone threatened his friends. However, he knew that would never happen and once Yugi returned from his excursion into Ahmose's mind and release Deirdre he'd likely be very distracted with his host and easily defeated thereafter. In the meantime, he could only stall and set up defense. It was currently Ahmose's turn.

Forgoing any further taunting, Ahmose drew a card and slipped two additional into his card slots, then placed a monster down with a muted splash of water. "I switch Shadowknight Archfiend into defense mode and summon Desrook Archfiend to the field in defense mode." Ahmose tried not to show it but he knew the pharaoh could sense his uncertainly, even as his second monster materialized into view; a towering skull with fiery red eyes supported atop of randomly generating crab-like appendages. 1100/1800

"Growing desperate, I see." Yami taunted, then a unnerving tug stabbed in his chest which directed his view to the Millennium Puzzle discarded in the center of the dueling field, the eye adorning the front of the item was pulsing faintly.

Ahmose saw it as well and with a bit of disinterest looked at the ancient riddle, then something caught his eye moving behind the pharaoh and his attitude brightened considerably. It was Téa, and she was attempting to hide from both of them behind the narrow lip of the entryway. Ahmose smiled and looked back up at Yami who was still unsure what that sensation had been. It was the feeling he got when one of his friends was about to come into some type of danger but without seeing the person he couldn't put a finger on it. Though no longer visible on his person, he raised up a hand to his deck and immediately recognized what it was that was jabbing him: The everlasting symbol of friendship that Téa marked on his, Joey's and Tristian's hands with a permanent marker. One of them was nearby.

"Well now," Ahmose said with a sly grin. "Perhaps my odds are improving. Pharaoh, remember earlier in this duel when I predicted I'd defeat you in four turns?"

Yami nodded. "Obviously you were mistaken. Seems like you should have spent the money you wasted in fortune tellers school and invested it."

Ahmose laughed. "Oh pharaoh, you slay me! As always you have a witty retort and guess what? This time I have one as well! In four turns I might not be able to defeat you but you will seriously consider forfeiting."

"I will?" Yami said with a scoff. "Is your headband on too tight, Deirdre?"

His sneer grew and he switched his cards to his other hand, slipped a thumb up under Deirdre's white headband and flipped it off. He held it straight out at his side and the wind lifted up and sent it soaring off the edge of the ship. "Four turns pharaoh, or else." He pointed past Yami towards where Téa was hiding. She gasped and stood up, causing a look of utter incredulity from the pharaoh.

"Four turns! If I don't beat you or you do not surrender I will kill her!" He laughed and held out his arms towards the sky, causing the thunder and lightning to increase dramatically all centralized above her, who also found her feet were completely immobile.

Téa hunched down and tried to physically uproot her feet from her tennis shoes but found those as securely fastened as her soles were to the ground. "Yugi help! I can't move!"

Yami flipped around and attempted to run to her aid but found his feet were just as motionless beneath him, and despite working his own Millennium magic, as evident from the item vibrating and glowing though several feet out of his reach. "Ahmose, please stop this! Téa's life isn't worth fulfilling this grudge you have against me!"

"Oh, I think the life of one little mortal girl will be overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Now," Ahmose said with a renewed sense of confidence in the duel. "I activate the magic card Reckless Rush, which forces your Dark Magician of Chaos to initiate an attack against me!"

Against his better judgment, Yami's Dark Magician grunted and creaked like a poorly oiled machine while lifting up his staff and shouting out of frustration while slamming it down on the ground, creating a huge black ball of crackling energy that streaked towards the Desrook Archfiend. "And now I activate the trap card Shadow Spell!" A wall of midnight black chains leaped up from the ground, ripping through the attack and coiling around the Dark Magician of Chaos in a binding wrap of metal that covered him head-to-toe. "Very nice. So, I choose to end my turn." He snapped his fingers at Téa, who started to struggle a bit more than before. "Three more turns my dear, and you'll be at the business end of a lightning bolt!"

Yami wasn't at all paying attention to the duel, though he drew a card and looked at it in his hand, though he couldn't concentrate enough to form a viable strategy with such a short amount of time remaining before one of his best friends was fatally electrocuted. Desperate, he shifted his method of approach. "Deirdre! I know you are in there and I pray you can hear me! Stop this madman! Don't let him continue this Shadow Game any longer!"

Ahmose shook his head and sighed with disappointment. "Oh pharaoh, how sad. I can't believe you would reduce yourself to weak-willed begging. Why not just save yourself some measure of dignity and give up? I won't think any less of you and though you'll be permanently confined to your Millennium Puzzle, at least your companions will all be safe." He leaned to the right and shouted past him to Téa. "And I know you'd appreciate not dying, right?" Laughing harder than ever completely enthralled with himself, Ahmose felt invincible. "Oh my poor pharaoh! You've finally met your match, so many years after when it actually mattered. And you know the best part?" He asked enthusiastically. Yami, however, only scowled and said nothing. "I've been inactive in dueling for five thousand years."

"If you are truly pleased with yourself for stooping so low then I fear you truly are a lost cause, Ahmose."

"I could have told you that." He reached both hands up to the collar of his jacket and adjusted it with a sharp pull forward, ringing out much of the water that had absorbed into the collar lining. "Well, time to end this comedy of errors. You're finished pharaoh." He held up four fingers and then slowly lowered one. "In three."

…………

…………

Skylar drew a card and smiled. "And now I play Polymerization! Fusing my Sangan and my Witch of the Black Forest—"

Espa's hand hovered over a trap card he had face down but decided against activating it. This was the fourth duel in a row he had won but each time he received a severe punch from his opponent, and this would be game breaking. He decided to just let her win and save himself some pain.

"—Into Sanwitch! Attack his…hey, what is that?"

"What is what?" Espa asked as his hand was prepared to remove his monster from the field. Skylar stood up and ran out of the shelter towards the darkened field. Espa watched her run, snickered quietly to himself and drew an additional card, then set down his hand and ran after her.

Skylar had stopped at the base of a tall tree and stared up at an object which was dangling precariously from a branch. She waved him over and asked for a boost, which he gladly provided. She balanced on his hands and snatched the strip of white fabric, then hopped down and landed with cheerleader's grace next to her companion. She gasped at the realization of what it was and smoothed her hand across its tarnished and dirty surface. "It's Deirdre's...bandanna."

Skylar shuttered with a renewed sensation of worry and looked up into the sky, praying that he was all right. This time, however, she didn't see that familiar twinkle.


End file.
